Marc Riboud: Paris to Peking
“Rather than a profession, photography has always been a passion for me, a passion closer to an obsession”- Marc Riboud
Riboud’s early career began in 1951 when, after experimenting with photography at the festival of Lyon during a weeklong holiday, he moved to Paris where he met Henri Cartier-Bresson and Robert Capa, the founders of Magnum Photos. Riboud would become president of the agency in 1976. In 1957, Riboud was one of the only photographers to visit and document daily life in China, and the exhibition is a rare opportunity to view little-seen prints from this expedition. Early images of Paris, Central London, Woolwich, Wimbledon, Southend and Leeds taken after Riboud became a member of Magnum Photos in 1953 will also be part of the exhibition. This will be a unique opportunity to view these very rarely seen images, which form an essential but lesser known part of Riboud’s oeuvre. Paris to Peking is a selection of favourite pieces from Riboud’s personal archive, and documents his evolution as a photographer.

Windows of an antique dealers shop, Liulichang, Beijing, 1965
Gelatin silver archive print
12 x 16 in.

2. Eiffel Tower Painter, Paris, 1953
Gelatin silver archive print
7 x 9.5 in.

London, 1954
Gelatin silver archive print
12 x 16 in.

‘Dangerous Fence’, London, 1954
Gelatin silver archive print
12 x 16 in.

On the Great Wall, near Beijing, 1971
Gelatin silver archive print
7 x 10.25 in.

Peasant woman on the train, 1957
Gelatin silver archive print
8.75 x 12 in

Docker’s strike in London, 1954
Gelatin silver archive print
12 x 16 in.

Nun in front of Notre-Dame, Paris, 1953
Gelatin silver archive print
12 x 16 in.

Lovers of the Pont Des Arts, Paris, 1953
Gelatin silver archive print
12 x 16 in.

Young girl holding a flower, demonstration against the war in Vietnam, Washington, 1967
Gelatin silver archive print
12 x 16 in.

The Canteen of a steel factory, Anshan, 1957
Gelatin silver archive print
9.5 x 12 in.

Forbidden City Under the Snow, Beijing, 1957
Gelatin silver archive print
12 x 16 in.