Magnum Editions: A New Collection

Magnum has, since the mid-’80s, sold prints ranging from rare vintage prints dating from around the time the work was taken, to stamped estate prints as well as signed and editioned contemporary prints. Traditionally Magnum photographers and estates have only sold contemporary collector’s prints with prices starting around $1,500.

Why do people buy art? For some it will be an investment, but for others it may be based on a personal connection – perhaps the subject matter has a particular resonance. Irrespective of motive, for many, buying into the art market remains an aspiration. The new 8×10″ Magnum Editions selection, for the first time, gives clients and photography fans the chance to own images from Magnum photographers at a more affordable price point: selling for $399, unframed. These prints offer an opportunity to anyone who is looking to start their photography collection.

You can see all the images included in the first collection of 8×10″ Magnum Editions prints in the slideshow above. These archival-quality photographic prints are now available, estate-stamped, in a limited edition of 100. These photographs have never before been offered in this format, and once sold will never be available again. Learn more about the individual photographs on the Magnum Shop, here.

Many of the images in this initial collection of the 8×10″ range are in fact currently available as signed or estate-stamped fine photographs ranging in the thousands of dollars. Others are not. For example, the René Burri estate does not print posthumous estate prints. Photographic prints and editions adhere to carefully observed processes and rules, and the 8×10″ collection is no different.

For this new collection, we have created a Magnum Photos Archive stamp which will be applied to all prints and will validate their edition.

The market for owning printed work by photographers, both new work and rare vintage editions continues to grow. The higher end of the market mirroring the art market, with some rare and in-demand pieces akin to contemporary art and the entry level populated with photography fans looking to kick-start their collection with finds from well-known names or adorn their spaces with the work of rising talent. “Printed works which occupy new value points enable more collectors to enter a growing market,” explained Chelsea Jacob, Magnum’s Gallery Director.

Asked what advice she would give to a beginner collector, Jacob said, “Start with images you like and that you think you’ll like for a long time. Some collectors begin from a price point, others a theme, time period or a certain artist.”

“Our starting point for defining this collection was based on exactly this,” Jacob adds, “We’ve selected a collection of images that are timeless.” The images on offer represent some of the breadth of vision and practice the collective embodies. Images like those by Guy Le Querrec, Micha Bar-Am, and Stuart Franklin – whose famed ‘Tank Man’ image is included – represent Magnum photographers’ work documenting the pivotal political and historic events of the last hundred-odd years. Eve Arnold, David ‘Chim’ Seymour, and Burt Glinn’s images capture the bombast and glamor of on-set work during Hollywood’s heyday, in contrast to the quieter observations of Raymond Depardon and Elliott Erwitt – whose photographs of New York shy from the postcard depictions of that most-photographed city to capture fleeting yet beautiful moments.

René Burri – well known for his black and white architectural images of works (or indeed whole cities) by Niemeyer and Le Corbusier here captures post war modernism in explosive color. Likewise Constantine Manos, whose early work was in black and white, shifted toward color for his best-known book projects American Color and American Color 2; an image from the former is included here. Nikos Economopoulos’ work in Cuba and Bruno Barbey’s in Morocco see these photographers engaging with, and harnessing the brilliance of  light, shadow, and color, in the settings which for them provided so much inspiration.

Magnum at its heart is a cooperative, this — the first selection of images available in the 8×10″ format — nods toward the variety of timeless, classic works within the collective.

You can see all the images included in the first collection of Magnum’s 8×10″ prints in the slideshow at the top of this page, and learn more about the individual photographs on the Magnum Shop, here.