June 23, 2017

The Meaning of Magnum

On the set of "The Planet of the Apes, California, 1967. © Dennis Stock/Magnum Photos

Children play among the wreckage of the D Day invasion, Normandy, 1947. © David Seymour/Magnum Photos

A cell block table in The Walls, a walled penitentiary that is the oldest unit of the system, located near the center of the town. Huntsville, Texas. 1968. © Danny Lyon/Magnum Photos

Cherries spilled on crosswalk, New York City, NY, 2014. © Christopher Anderson/Magnum Photos

Stamps of Magnum photographers, Magnum Photos Agency, Paris. © Alex Webb/Magnum Photos

Mexicans arrested while trying to cross the border to United States, San Ysidro, California, 1979. © Alex Webb/Magnum Photos

London, 1951. © Henri Cartier- Bresson/Magnum Photos

Robert Kennedy funeral train, 1968. © Paul Fusco/Magnum Photos

In its 70-year history, Magnum has been many things to many people. Founded to give its members more control over the stories they covered and how their images were used, the collective evolved into, among other things, a repository of photographic history, an advocate for documentary photography and a brand. On the occasion of its…