50 Photo Icons. The Story Behind the Pictures

Photographs have a strange and powerful way of shaping the way we see the world. The most successful images enter our collective consciousness, defining eras, making history, or simply touching something so fundamentally human and universal that they have become resonant icons all over the globe. To explore this unique influence, Photo Icons puts some of the most important photographic landmarks under the microscope.

From some of the earliest photography, such as Nicephore Niepce's 1827 eight-hour-exposure rooftop picture and Louis Daguerre’s famous 1839 street scene, through to Martin Parr, this is as much a history of the medium as a case-by-case analysis of social, historical, and artistic impact. We take in experimental Surrealist shots of the 1920s and the gritty photorealism of the 1930s, including Dorothea Lange's Migrant Mother.

"A meticulous analysis by an erudite historian. Each shot is accompanied by a fascinating commentary."
Le Monde, Paris