Steve McCurryFloating Offerings, Varanasi, India1996
1996
- Creator:Steve McCurry (1950, American)
- Creation Year:1996
- Dimensions:Height: 20 in (50.8 cm)Width: 24 in (60.96 cm)
- Condition:
- Gallery Location:Santa Monica, CA
- Reference Number:1stDibs: G1104271439
Steve McCurry
Steve McCurry is an American photographer who gained international acclaim for his arresting portrait of a young refugee known simply as Afghan Girl.
Originally published on the cover of National Geographic in 1985, the photograph shows a young Pashtun orphan, later identified as Sharbat Gula, who was living in a refugee camp near Peshawar, Pakistan, during the Soviet Union’s occupation of Afghanistan. The image is emblematic of McCurry’s work, which has brought him to war zones across the globe. Rather than focusing on the violence of the battlefield, McCurry seeks to capture the human face of conflict, distilling what is universal and recognizable in each portrait.
McCurry was born in Philadelphia and attended Penn State University, graduating cum laude with a degree in theater arts in 1974. After several years working at a newspaper in King of Prussia, Pennsylvania, he left to work as a freelancer in India, where he honed his skill for capturing unguarded moments in daily life. Just prior to the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan, in 1979, he crossed the border from Pakistan into Afghan rebel–controlled territory, wearing native garb to disguise himself, with rolls of film sewn into his clothing. The photographs he took there were among the first in the world to document the conflict, and his work was awarded the Robert Capa Gold Medal for “photographic reporting from abroad.”
Over the course of his career, McCurry has documented daily life alongside conflicts in Cambodia, the Philippines, the former Yugoslavia, Beirut, Iraq, Afghanistan and Tibet. Though his photos depict serious and sometimes frightening situations, his ability to connect with subjects and capture something of their personalities allows his images to transcend the documentarian distance of wartime journalism. The results are real portraits that happen to be set in tough situations. Welder in a Ship Breaking Yard, Mumbai, India (1994), for instance, reveals only the subject’s eyes, but they’re so intently fixed on McCurry’s lens that they seem to express volumes. Monk Running on Wall (2004) shows a young monk defying gravity as he skitters along an exterior wall of the Shaolin Monastery in Henan, China, over the heads of his friends. Like a Baroque painting, McCurry’s picture captures a moment of dynamic action that reveals something instantly recognizable in a subject from another part of the world.
Find original Steve McCurry photography on 1stDibs.
- ShippingRetrieving quote...Ships From: Santa Monica, CA
- Return PolicyA return for this item may be initiated within 30 days of delivery.
- Untitled (Horses Kissing)By Pentti SammallahtiLocated in Santa Monica, CAPentti Sammallahti Untitled (Horses Kissing) 1979 Gelatin Silver printCategory
20th Century Black and White Photography
MaterialsSilver Gelatin
- Nenets, an indigenous nomadic peopleBy Sebastião SalgadoLocated in Santa Monica, CASigned in pencil on versoCategory
21st Century and Contemporary Black and White Photography
MaterialsSilver Gelatin
- Small ApplesBy Kristoffer AlbrechtLocated in Santa Monica, CASigned, titled and dated on versoCategory
20th Century Photography
MaterialsSilver Gelatin
- Johnny Cash, Las Vegas, NVBy Mark SeligerLocated in Santa Monica, CAsigned, titled and dated on verso, artists stamp in inkMaterials
Silver Gelatin
- Nenets, an indigenous nomadic peopleBy Sebastião SalgadoLocated in Santa Monica, CASigned in pencil on versoCategory
21st Century and Contemporary Black and White Photography
MaterialsSilver Gelatin
- Fog Along EmbarcaderoBy Fred LyonLocated in Santa Monica, CAsigned, titled, dated by artist in pencil, verso (c) The Estate of Fred Lyon Courtesy. Peter Fetterman GalleryCategory
1950s Photography
MaterialsSilver Gelatin
- Attempted Escape, Lima, PeruLocated in Toronto, ONHand Signed by Ken Heyman Limited Edition of ? ...Category
1960s Contemporary Black and White Photography
MaterialsSilver Gelatin
- UntitledBy Eugene ZaluzhnyLocated in Dallas, TXSignature labelCategory
21st Century and Contemporary Contemporary Portrait Photography
MaterialsArchival Pigment
- Jean-Michel Basquiat 1979 photograph (Basquiat by Nick Taylor Gray)By Nicholas TaylorLocated in NEW YORK, NYJean Michel Basquiat, New York, 1979 This rare Basquiat photograph was taken from Nicholas Taylor’s well-documented portfolio exploring his friendship with Jean-Michel Basquiat - a f...Category
20th Century Pop Art Photography
MaterialsSilver Gelatin
- Black Tears II, animal, wildlife, black and white photography, cheetahBy Joachim SchmeisserLocated in Munich, DEEdition of 12 more sizes on request A Cheetah mum is sitting in the savannah. Joachim Schmeisser is represented by leading Galleries worldwide. His photographs are among the most s...Category
2010s Contemporary Black and White Photography
MaterialsArchival Pigment
- Young Girl Dressed for Day of the Dead, Dia de los Muertos, Isla Mujeres, MexicoLocated in Toronto, ONYoung Girl Dressed for Day of the Dead, Dia de los Muertos, Isla Mujeres, Mexico, 2023 Photograph by Cosmo Condina in colour of a young girl dressed for the celebration of the Day o...Category
2010s Portrait Photography
MaterialsArchival Pigment
- Paradise, TXBy Keith Carter b.1948Located in Dallas, TXEdition of 50 Signed, titled, dated and numbered. Series: From Uncertain to Blue Keith Carter is an American photographer who is known for his dreamlike black and white photographs ...Category
1990s Contemporary Portrait Photography
MaterialsSilver Gelatin
Recently Viewed
View AllRead More
Photographer Jerry Schatzberg Remembers a Legendary Shoot with Bob Dylan
The acclaimed lensman and the folk-rock phenomenon clicked, and a captivating portrait followed.
Photographer to Know: Jeannette Montgomery Barron
Her stunning portraits of Jean-Michel Basquiat, Andy Warhol and other artists chronicle a crucial chapter of New York’s cultural history.