Inge Morath
1923 - 2002
Home page: http://www.ingemorath.org
Archive contact: John Jacob (jpjacob@ingemorath.org)
Inge Morath was born in Graz, Austria. She studied languages in Berlin, and after the Second World War became the Austrian editor for Heute, a publication of the Information Service Branch based in Munich. A friend of photographer Ernst Haas, Morath wrote articles to accompany his photographs. Together, they were invited to Paris by Robert Capa to join the newly-founded Magnum agency, where she worked as an editor. Morath began photographing in 1951, working with Simon Guttman in London and then joining Magnum as an associate member in 1953. She assisted Henri Cartier-Bresson during 1953-54, and became a full member of Magnum in 1955.
In the following years, Morath traveled extensively in Europe, North Africa, and the Middle East, and her photographic essays were published by many leading magazines. Morath's first two books, Guerre a la Tristesse (1955) and De la Perse a L'Iran (1958) were edited and published by Robert Delpire. In 1962, after her marriage to playwright Arthur Miller, Morath settled in New York and Connecticut. She continued to pursue both assignments and independent projects, and she exhibited and published extensively. Morath won numerous awards, including being presented with a Doctor Honoris Causa by the University of Connecticut, the Austrian State Prize for Photography, the Gold Medal of the National Art Club, and the Medal of Honor in Gold of the City of Vienna.
Inge Morath's archive is held by the Inge Morath Foundation in New York City.