Students hurling objects at the police. Boulevard Saint-Germain, 6th arrondissement, Paris, France. May 6, 1968. © Bruno Barbey / Magnum Photos
1968 was a year of seismic political change and important activism, with much of this relating to freedom; freedom from oppression, freedom of speech or freedom to express one’s identity.
Magnum Photos had this in mind when designing its June 2018 Square Print Sale, drawing on photography from the past fifty years that in some way explored the notion of freedom.
This year’s collection includes many powerful moments. Leonard Freed captured the return of Dr Martin Luther King Jr to Baltimore in 1964 after he won the Nobel Peace Prize, while Rene Burri shot an iconic and arresting image of Ernesto ‘Che’ Guevara chomping on a cigar during an interview in Havana, Cuba, in 1963.
More recent work includes an image of a Rabari herdsman in Rajasthan, India, showing a way of life threatened by industrialisation and globalisation, captured by Steve McCurry in 2009. There are also images dating considerably further back in history, such as Robert Capa’s photograph of the liberation of Paris taken in 1944. Stuart Franklin’s iconic 1989 image of Tiananmen Square also features in the collection, as does a contribution from British photographer Martin Parr, which was part of a 1994 project that explored people’s relationships with their cars.
The project aims to be a "potted history of the 20th century," with widely known works sitting alongside more personal images, all exploring the nature of freedom and what it means to different people and different cultures. The prints have been provided by the Magnum photographers or their estates, and have been personally signed or estate-stamped.
If you fancy owning a few pieces of history, then the sale is definitely not something you’ll want to miss. Below we’ve put together the key things you need to know.
What you need to know
The print sale will be taking place at the Magnum Photos Shop from today until Friday 8 June, finishing at 6PM EST (11PM GMT).
More than 70 archival prints will be available for $100, printed on 6x6in archival paper. These editions will never be available again outside of the sale window. To get yours while you have the chance, visit the Magnum Photos Shop.
