fly away

Magnum Photos new Square Print Sale will give you the travel bug
By Finn Blythe | Art | 13 July 2021
Above:

Martin Parr/Magnum Photos

Signed, stamped and delivered on museum-quality prints, this year’s iteration of the Magnum Square Print Sale offers the same value for money as any other but with a timely theme of escape. That fantasy of breaking free from overly familiar surroundings has rarely felt more urgent, a mood that is reflected across more than 90 prints from the world’s leading photographers, past and present.

GALLERYMagnum Square Print Sale 2021

Available for one week only, the sale represents the very best of contemporary photography as well as a pertinent reminder of the medium’s evocative power. With our freedom of movement curtailed like never before, the selection provides a reminder of what we’ve all been missing these past eighteen months (as though we needed one), not just in terms of far-flung destinations but the restorative sense of release that only travel can offer.

From rural scenes of picturesque tranquility in the work of Steve McCurry or Nanna Heitmann to the bustle of an urban metropolis in the work of Martin Parr or Ernest Cole, the curated selection, like any good travel agent, caters to all tastes and preferences. If historic scenes are more your thing, look no further than the work of David Hurn or W. Eugene Smith, the latter having famously documented life in the fallout of Spain’s Civil War and the rise of Franco’s infamous military police in his iconic photograph of the Guardia Civil.

Alternatively, if narrative-led, documentary-style photographs are more your bag, this year’s sale will have you spoiled for choice. From the work of Polish artist Rafal Milach, whose travels across former Soviet Bloc countries reveal how communities are adapting to historical legacies of oppression, to the Cartier-Bresson-inspired street photography of Russian artist Gueorgui Pinkhassov, the selection has brought to light a wealth of lesser-known names equally deserving of your attention as the revered icons.

The Magnum Square Print Sale will take place on the Magnum Photos Shop which you can access here, from Monday July 12, 6AM PST to Sunday, July 18, 11:59 PM PST. All prints are priced at $100. 


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