Eve Arnold: 1912-2011

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10 February 2012

Often called the grande dame of postwar photojournalism, Eve Arnold passed away in January at the age of 99.

Arnold first fell in love with photography after her boyfriend gave her a $40 Rolleicord and insisted she learn how to use it.

Her best-known work includes photographs of Marilyn Monroe on the set of "The Misfits," black-and-white pictures of Malcolm X clutching fistfuls of money at a Nation of Islam rally, and haunting images of the American Nazi Party.

Although many of her photographs were of celebrities and high-profile newsmakers, she printed over 750,00 images, including some that capture the more simple tasks in life, such as mowing the lawn and harvesting potatoes.

Arnold started working at a photofinishing lab during World War II, but after her husband, industrial designer Arnold Arnold, returned, she left work to give birth to their son. Later, needing to return to her art, she enrolled at the New School in New York, where she studied photography under Alexey Brodovitch, the renowned art director for Harper’s Bazaar magazine.

One of the first women hired to take pictures for Magnum Photos, Arnold began working for the photo agency in 1951. She also served as the official photographer on 40 movie sets and was published in the Picture Post, Time and Life magazines.

In 1979, after waiting 10 years for a visa, she visited China twice and traveled 40,000 miles to photograph Communist officials, Mongolian horsemen and oil drillers. Throughout her career she worked with photographers such as Henri Cartier-Bresson, Gordon Parks, Robert Capa and Margaret Bourke-White.

She is survived by her son, Frank, and three grandchildren.