Contact Press Images

Contact Press Images is one of the most significant agencies and archives of late-20th-century in existence. Representing the work of two-dozen preeminent photographers, including: Founding Members: David Burnett, Frank Fournier, Kenneth Jarecke, Annie Leibovitz, Dilip Mehta, Alon Reininger; Senior Members: Kristen Ashburn, Alexandra Avakian, Stephen Dupont and Lori Grinker; Contributors: Juliana Beasley, Sean Hemmerle, James Hill, Edward Keating Special Contributors: Jane Evelyn Atwood, Martine Barrat, Jonathan Becker, George Butler, Yunghi Kim, Li Zhensheng, Ken Light, Don McCullin, Sebastiaio Salgado and Alfred Wertheimer. Estates: Gilles Caron and Olivier Rebbot This exceptional body of work spans the rise of the Berlin Wall to present day, and includes images of the major events, personalities, and social currents of the 20th century through present day. Contact was founded in New York in 1976, nine months after the end of the war in Vietnam, to facilitate the production of new, independent photojournalism. Under the direction of Robert Pledge. Photographer joined or were selected based on talent and commitment or area of specialization or interest. The agency maintained a consistent editorial direction: a documentary approach that valued depth over speed, pioneered the use of color film to cover the news, in addition to black and white, and primarily focused its collective lens on conflict, human rights issues, and important cultural trends.