© Abbas | Magnum Photos
John Morris, the photo editor responsible for the commissioning and publishing of some of the most iconic photographs of the 20th century, and whose lifelong commitment to visual storytelling has shaped the history of photojournalism, died on Friday, July 28, 2017, at a hospital near his home in Paris. He was 100.
© Abbas | Magnum Photos
John Morris called Magnum co-founder Robert Capa his Hungarian brother.The photographer sent his unprocessed film of the D-Day landings to Morris, his editor at LIFE magazine, who oversaw the publication of 11 images from the event. American-born Morris worked as London’s photo editor for the weekly picture magazine throughout WW2, commissioning photo reportage from the war front.
© Robert Capa
Morris was a part of Magnum since the very beginning. Speaking to Magnum in November 2016, he said, “I knew all the founders of Magnum, even before they knew each other. I met Robert Capa just when the war in Europe was starting. He had already covered the Spanish civil war. It was from Capa that I first heard of his dream of a picture agency. It was not called Magnum, it was just an idea that photographers should benefit more from the sale of their work.”
