Artist Database

Sebastião Salgado, born in 1944, in Aimorés, Brazil, is a renowned photojournalist celebrated for his striking black-and-white images of marginalised people. Initially trained as an economist – with a master’s from Sao Paulo University (1968) and a PhD from the University of Paris (1971), Salgado shifted to photography in 1973 while working for the International Coffee Organization. His work, notably series like Other Americas (1986), Sahel: Man in Distress (1986), and Workers (1993), often depicts the harsh realities faced by impoverished communities. His books include Africa (2007) and Genesis (2013), which document unspoiled landscapes and cultures. In 1998, Salgado and his wife helped to found Instituto Terra to restore portions of Brazil’s rainforest. His work has earned numerous awards, including the W. Eugene Smith Grant (1982) and the Praemium Imperiale by the Japan Art Association in 2021. Salgado's work is in prominent collections such as the Centre Pompidou in Paris, the Art Institute of Chicago, the Museum of Modern Art in New York City, and the National Museum of Modern Art in Tokyo, Japan.