Eve Arnold

Eve Arnold, a forceful figure in the world of photography has died at the ripe old age of 99. Arnold, an American photographer born in 1912, was the first women to become a member of the Magnum agency in 1957, producing some intense portraits and engaging in photojournalism and fashion photography throughout her long and successful career.

Eve Arnold in 1997

Throughout her career she photographed some key public figures and celebrities including Malcolm X, Richard Burton, Elizabeth Taylor and Marilyn Monroe. While she was a fierce social critic on apartheid and poverty, she documented the glamourous world of Hollywood and in her later career produced a series of work on life in the Arab states in the 60's and 70's. Arnold was one of the first western photographers to document China and she chanelled her own experiences and issues into her work.

"I have been poor and I wanted to document poverty; I had lost a child and I was obsessed with birth; I was interested in politics and I wanted to know how it affected our lives; I am a woman and I wanted to know about women," Arnold once said according to her 1976 book, "The Unretouched Woman." (Reuters)

Marilyn Monroe 1955

Malcolm X 1961

Marlene Dietrich 1952

Havana 1954

Richard Burton & Elizabeth Taylor in Shepperton, UK 1963

Dubai 1971

China 1979

Images from the Guardian & BBC websites

Her beautiful images, both strong and natural, effortlessly captured the emotion of her subject and she was heavily praised for her work and widely exhibited throughout her career. She made a huge impact upon the world of photography, influencing the world with her beautiful images.