Eve Arnold retrospective at CAMERA Torino showcases pioneering photojournalist

CAMERA – Centro Italiano per la Fotografia in Turin presents a major retrospective of Eve Arnold (1912–2012), featuring around 170 photographs from the 1950s to the 1980s, including some previously unseen. Arnold, who joined Magnum Photos in 1951 as its first female member alongside Inge Morath, is celebrated for her intimate, natural-light reportage spanning investigative journalism and celebrity portraits. The exhibition includes iconic series such as 'Black is Beautiful' (1968), documenting African American identity, and 'Behind the Veil' (1969), a journey through Afghanistan, Egypt, UAE, Pakistan, and Turkmenistan with writer Lesley Blanch. Her subjects are predominantly women—mothers, workers, students, stars—portrayed without stereotype. Highlights include portraits of Marilyn Monroe, Marlene Dietrich, Joan Crawford, Orson Welles, and Malcolm X (1961). Arnold once said, 'I have been poor and I wanted to document poverty. I lost a child and I was obsessed with birth. I was interested in politics and wanted to know how it affected our lives. I am a woman and I wanted to know women.' The exhibition runs at CAMERA in Turin.