Sebastião Salgado

Sebastião Salgado was born on 8 February 1944,{{Cite news |last=Netto |first=Andrei |date=8 February 2024 |title=Photographer Sebastião Salgado at 80: 'They say I was an aesthete of misery' |url=https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2024/feb/08/photographer-sebastiao-salgado-at-80-they-say-i-was-an-aesthete-of-misery |access-date=8 February 2024 |newspaper=The Guardian |language=en-GB |issn=0261-3077}} in Aimorés, in the Brazilian state of Minas Gerais. After a somewhat itinerant childhood, Salgado trained as an economist, earning a BA degree from the Federal University of Espírito Santo (UFES); a master's degree from the University of São Paulo, in 1968; and a PhD from the University of Paris, in 1971.{{cite web | title=Sebastião Salgado | website=International Center of Photography | date=2 February 2019 | url=https://www.icp.org/browse/archive/constituents/sebasti%C3%A3o-salgado | access-date=1 June 2021}}

He began work as an economist for the International Coffee Organization and often traveled to Africa on missions for the World Bank.

It was on his travels to Africa that Salgado first started seriously taking photographs. He chose to abandon a career as an economist and switched to photography in 1973, working initially on news assignments before veering more towards documentary-type work. Salgado initially worked with the photo agency Sygma and the Paris-based Gamma, but in 1979, he joined the international cooperative of photographers Magnum Photos. He left Magnum in 1994 and with his wife Lélia Wanick Salgado formed his own agency, Amazonas Images, in Paris, to represent his work. He is particularly noted for his social documentary photography of workers in less developed nations.{{Cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2004/sep/11/sebastiaosalgado.photography2|title=Biography: Sebastião Salgado|date=11 September 2004|work=The Guardian|access-date=1 October 2017|issn=0261-3077}} His work resides in Paris.{{Cite web|url=https://www.unicef.org/salgado/bio.htm|title=Sebastiao Salgado – biography|website=www.unicef.org|access-date=1 October 2017}}

Salgado worked on long-term, self-assigned projects, many of which have been published as books: The Other Americas, Sahel, Workers, Migrations, and Genesis. The aforemetioned three are mammoth collections with hundreds of images each from all around the world. His most famous pictures are of a gold mine in Brazil called Serra Pelada, taken between 1986 and 1989.{{Cite news|url=http://theartofphotography.tv/photographers/salgado/|title=Sebastião Salgado |date=14 May 2015|work=The Art of Photography|access-date=1 October 2017}} He was also a UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador since 2001.{{cite web|date=29 April 2005|title=Sebastião Salgado|work=UNICEF |url=http://www.unicef.org/people/people_sebastiao_salgado.html|access-date=20 February 2012}}

Between 2004 and 2011, Salgado worked on Genesis, aiming at the presentation of the unblemished faces of nature and humanity. It consists of a series of photographs of landscapes and wildlife, as well as of human communities that continue to live in accordance with their ancestral traditions and cultures. This body of work is conceived as a potential path to humanity's rediscovery of itself in nature.{{Cite news|url=https://www.icp.org/exhibitions/sebasti%C3%A3o-salgado-genesis|title=Sebastião Salgado: Genesis|date=23 February 2016|work=International Center of Photography|access-date=1 October 2017}}

In September and October 2007, Salgado displayed his photographs of coffee workers from India, Guatemala, Ethiopia, and Brazil at the Brazilian Embassy in London. The aim of the project was to raise public awareness of the origins of the popular drink.{{Cite web|url=http://www.graphicine.com/sebastiao-salgado-genesis/|title=Sebastião Salgado – Genesis |website=Graphicine|access-date=1 October 2017}}

Salgado photographed the landscape and people of the Amazon rainforest (Amazônia) in Brazil.{{cite web|access-date=25 July 2021|title='Paradise exists!': Sebastião Salgado's stunning voyage into Amazônia|url=http://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2021/jun/21/paradise-exists-sebastiao-salgados-stunning-voyage-into-amazonia|date=21 June 2021|website=The Guardian|first=Jonathan|last=Jones|author-link=Jonathan Jones (journalist)}}{{cite web|access-date=2 April 2023|title=Are Californians destroying the Amazon? A Sebastião Salgado exhibit raises hard questions|url=https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2023-02-16/are-californians-destroying-the-amazon-a-sebastiao-salgado-photo-exhibit-raises-question|date=16 February 2023|website=Los Angeles Times|first=Reed|last=Johnson}}

Salgado's work has been described by Andrei Netto of The Guardian as an "instantly recognisable combination of black-and-white composition and dramatic lighting".

Salgado and his work are the focus of the film The Salt of the Earth (2014), directed by Wim Wenders and Salgado's son, Juliano Ribeiro Salgado, and produced by Lélia Wanick Salgado.{{Cite news |last=Bradshaw |first=Peter|author-link=Peter Bradshaw |date=16 July 2015 |title=The Salt of the Earth review – colourful portrait of visionary photographer Sebastião Salgado |url=https://www.theguardian.com/film/2015/jul/16/the-salt-of-the-earth-review-sebastiao-salgado-wim-wenders |access-date=23 May 2025 |newspaper=The Guardian |language=en-GB |issn=0261-3077}}

File:Reboisement par l'Institut Terra.png

Together, Lélia and Sebastião worked since the 1990s on the restoration of a part of the Atlantic Forest in Brazil. In 1998, they succeeded in turning {{Convert|17000|acre|ha}} into a nature reserve and created the Instituto Terra. The institute is dedicated to a mission of reforestation, conservation and environmental education.{{Cite web|url=http://www.youchange.org/p/instituto.terra.olu2d1kh/about/|title=Instituto Terra|website=Youchange|language=fr|access-date=1 October 2017}}{{cite web |last1=Funk |first1=McKenzie |date=October 2015 |title=Sebastião Salgado Has Seen the Forest, Now He's Seeing the Trees |url=https://www.smithsonianmag.com/arts-culture/sebastiao-salgado-forest-trees-180956620/ |access-date=5 June 2023 |website=Smithsonian Magazine |publisher=Smithsonian}}

Salgado was married to Lélia Wanick Salgado and had two children, including Juliano Ribeiro Salgado.{{Cite news |last=Malleret |first=Constance |date=23 May 2025 |title=Sebastião Salgado, photographer known for Amazon rainforest images, dies aged 81 |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/may/23/brazil-sebastiao-salgado-death |access-date=23 May 2025 |newspaper=The Guardian |language=en-GB |issn=0261-3077}}

On a 2010 trip to Indonesian New Guinea, Salgado contracted falciparum malaria, which permanently impaired his bone-marrow function.{{cite web | last=Armando | first= Antenore | title='Envelhecer não significa tirar fotos melhores' | website=piauí | date=17 June 2024 | url=https://piaui.folha.uol.com.br/sebastiao-salgado-80-anos-exposicao-fotos-cantor/ | language=pt-br | access-date=24 May 2025}} Salgado died on 23 May 2025 in Paris.{{cite web | last=Ionova | first=Ana | title=Sebastião Salgado, Acclaimed Brazilian Photographer, Is Dead at 81 | website=The New York Times | date=23 May 2025 | url=https://www.nytimes.com/2025/05/23/arts/sebastiao-salgado-dead.html | access-date=23 May 2025}} His death was announced by Instituto Terra on the following day.{{Cite web |date=23 May 2025 |title=Sebastião Salgado: Legendary Brazilian photographer dies at 81 |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cx2exym29pdo |first=Ian|last=Youngs|author2=Emma Lynch|access-date=23 May 2025 |website=BBC News |language=en-GB}}

• 1982: W. Eugene Smith Grant from the W. Eugene Smith Memorial Fund
• 1985: Oskar Barnack Award{{cite web | url = http://www.leica-oskar-barnack-award.com/#/en/winner/winner-2002-1979 | access-date = 2 May 2015 | publisher = Oskar Barnack Award | title = Sebastião Salgado}}
• 1989: Hasselblad Award, Hasselblad Foundation, Gothenburg, Sweden{{cite web | url = http://www.hasselbladfoundation.org/1989-sebastiao-salgado/en/ | access-date = 6 March 2015 | publisher = Hasselblad Foundation | title = Sebastião Salgado}}
• 1992: Oskar Barnack Award{{cite web | url = http://www.leica-oskar-barnack-award.com/#/en/winner/winner-2002-1979 | access-date = 2 May 2015 | publisher = Leica Oskar Barnack Award | title = Sebastião Salgado}}
• 1992: Foreign Honorary Member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences
• 1993: Centenary Medal from the Royal Photographic Society
• 1993: Honorary Fellowship (HonFRPS) from the Royal Photographic Society
• 1994: Grand Prix National French Ministry of Culture, Ministry of Culture (France)
• 1998: Prince of Asturias Awards, Arts category{{Cite news|url=http://www.fpa.es/en/princess-of-asturias-awards/laureates/1998-sebastiao-salgado.html?especifica=0|title=Sebastião Salgado – Laureates – Princess of Asturias Awards|work=The Princess of Asturias Foundation|access-date=1 October 2017}}
• 1988: King of Spain International Journalism Award{{Cite news|url=https://vivirasturias.com/sebastiao-salgado-premio-de-las-artes-1998|title=Sebastião Salgado, Premio de las Artes 1998 |date=9 January 2017|work=Turismo Asturias|access-date=1 October 2017|language=es-ES}}
• 2003: International Award from the Photographic Society of Japan{{cite web | url = http://www.psj.or.jp/english/sub2.html | access-date = 5 March 2015 | publisher = Photographic Society of Japan | title = Photographic Society of Japan Awards}}
• 2007: M2-El Mundo People's Choice Award for best exhibition a PhotoEspaña, for Africa{{Cite web|url=http://www.elpublicista.es/profesion/decima-edicion-photoespana-finaliza-600000-visitantes|title=La décima edición de PHotoEspaña finaliza con 600.000 visitantes|work=El Publicista|date=20 July 2007|access-date=1 October 2017}}
• 2019: Peace Prize of the German Book Trade{{Cite web|url=https://www.dw.com/en/brazilian-photographer-sebastiao-salgado-wins-german-book-trade-peace-prize/a-49246029|title=Photographer Sebastiao Salgado wins German peace prize|website=DW|accessdate=7 April 2023}}
• 2021: Crystal Award, World Economic Forum{{Cite news|url=https://www.praemiumimperiale.org/en/laureate-en/laureates-en/salgado-en|title=Sebastião Salgado |website=The Japan Art Association|date=14 September 2021|language=pt}}
• 2021: Praemium Imperiale
• 2024: Outstanding Contribution to Photography Sony World Photography Awards{{cite news |title=2024 Sony World Photography Awards: Winners revealed |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/in-pictures-68825830 |access-date=26 May 2025 |date=18 April 2024}}{{cite web |last1=Siemaszko |first1=Anna |title=Meet Sebastião Salgado, 2024's Outstanding Contribution to Photography Recipient |url=https://www.worldphoto.org/blogs/20-05-24/meet-sebasti%C3%A3o-salgado-2024s-outstanding-contribution-photography-recipient |website=World Photography Organisation |access-date=26 May 2025 |language=en |date=24 May 2024}}

• {{Flag|Brazil}}: Commander of the Order of Rio Branco (2004)[https://www.academiedesbeauxarts.fr/sites/default/files/inline-files/cp_installation_salgado_aba.pdf Academie des Beux Arts]
• {{Flag|France}}: Knight of the Legion of Honour (2016)
• {{Flag|France}}: Commander of the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres (2014)
• {{Flag|Monaco}}: Knight of the Order of Cultural Merit (Monaco) (2018){{cite journal | url=https://journaldemonaco.gouv.mc/Journaux/2018/Journal-8409/Ordonnance-Souveraine-n-7.202-du-18-novembre-2018-portant-promotions-ou-nominations-dans-l-Ordre-du-Merite-Culturel | title=Ordonnance Souveraine n° 7.202 du 18 novembre 2018 portant promotions ou nominations dans l'Ordre du Mérite Culturel|number=8409 |date=23 November 2018 |journal= Journal de Monaco }}

Image:Sebastiaosalgado2006.jpg his new book in 2006, during Lula's first presidency.]]

• An Uncertain Grace. Essays by Eduardo Galeano and Fred Ritchin.
• {{cite book |last1=Salgado |first1=Sebastião |last2=Galeano |first2=Eduardo |last3=Ritchin |first3=Fred |last4=San Francisco Museum of Modern Art |year=1990 |title=An uncertain grace |location=New York |publisher=Aperture Foundation |isbn=978-0-89381-460-1 |oclc=22701623}}
• {{cite book |last1=Salgado |first1=Sebastião |last2=Galeano |first2=Eduardo |last3=Ritchin |first3=Fred |year=2004 |title=Sebastião Salgado: An uncertain grace |location=London |publisher=Thames & Hudson |isbn=978-0-500-28489-6 |oclc=56457689}}
• Workers: Archaeology of the Industrial Age.
• {{cite book |author= |title=Sebastião Salgado: Workers: an archaeology of the industrial age |location=London |publisher=Phaidon |year=1993 |isbn=978-0-7148-2931-9 |oclc=471602337}}
• {{cite book |author= |title=Trabalho, uma arqueologia da era industrial |location=Portugal |publisher=Caminho |year=1993 |isbn=978-972-21-0834-8 |oclc=81101769}}
• {{cite book |last=Salgado |first=Sebastião |year=2009 |title=Trabalhadores : uma arqueologia da era industrial |location=São Paulo |publisher=Companhia das Letras |isbn=978-85-7164-588-2 |oclc=859535737 }}
• {{cite book |last1=Salgado |first1=Sebastião |last2=Buarque de Holanda |first2=Francisco |last3=Saramago |first3=José |last4=Landers |first4=Clifford |year=1997 |title=Terra: struggle of the landless |location=London |publisher=Phaidon Press |isbn=0-7148-3636-2 |oclc=610974180 }}
• {{cite book |last=Salgado |first=Sebastião |year=2000 |title=Migrations: humanity in transition |location=New York |publisher=Aperture |isbn=978-0-89381-891-3 |oclc=914864396 }}
• {{cite book |last1=Salgado |first1=Sebastião |last2=Wanick Salgado |first2=Lélia |year=2016 |title=Exodus |location=Cologne |publisher=Taschen |isbn=978-3-8365-6130-3 |oclc=959255065 }}
• The Children: Refugees and Migrants. New York: Aperture, 2000. {{ISBN|978-0-89381-894-4}}.
• Sahel: The End of the Road. Oakland, CA: University of California Press, 2004. {{ISBN|978-0-520-24170-1}}.
• Africa. Cologne: Taschen, 2007. {{ISBN|978-3-8365-2343-1}}.
• Genesis. Cologne: Taschen, 2013. {{ISBN|978-3-8365-3872-5}}.
• From my Land to the Planet. Roma: Contrasto, 2014. {{ISBN|978-88-6965-537-1}}.
• The Scent of a Dream: Travels in the World of Coffee. New York: Abrams, 2015. {{ISBN|978-1-4197-1921-9}}.
• Kuwait. A Desert on Fire. Cologne: Taschen, 2016. {{ISBN|978-3-8365-6125-9}}.
• Gold. Cologne: Taschen, 2019. Edited by Lélia Wanick Salgado. {{ISBN|978-3-8365-7508-9}}.
• Amazônia. Cologne: Taschen, 2021. Edited by Lélia Wanick Salgado. {{ISBN|978-3-8365-8510-1}}.

• The Salt of the Earth (2014). Documentary about and with Salgado, directed by Wim Wenders and Salgado's son Juliano Ribeiro Salgado.

Image:Sebastião Salgado - Genesis.JPG

• Genesis, Royal Ontario Museum, Toronto, Canada, 2013;{{cite press release|url=http://www.rom.on.ca/en/about-us/newsroom/press-releases/sebastiao-salgado-genesis |title=Sebastião Salgado: Genesis|publisher=Royal Ontario Museum|access-date=17 August 2014}} Natural History Museum, London, 2013;{{cite news | url = https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/in-pictures-22080740 | date = 10 April 2013 | accessdate = 13 August 2014 | first = Phil | last = Coomes | publisher = BBC News | title = Sebastiao Salgado's Genesis}} Maison Européenne de la Photographie, Paris, 2013–14;"[http://www.parisphoto.com/agenda/sebastiao-salgado Sebastião Salgado, Genesis]", Paris Photo. Accessed 13 August 2014. National Museum of Singapore, 2014;"[http://www.nationalmuseum.sg/NMSPortal/faces/oracle/webcenter/portalapp/pagehierarchy/Page8.jspx?detContId=NHBSVRAPP61620000043158 Genesis]", National Museum of Singapore. Accessed 17 August 2014. Palácio das Artes, Belo Horizonte, Brazil, 2014; Fotografiska, Stockholm, 2014; Palazzo della Ragione, Milan, Italy, 2014; International Center of Photography, New York City, 2014–15;{{Cite news|url=http://www.icp.org/museum/exhibitions/sebastiao-salgado-genesis|title=Sebastião Salgado: Genesis|newspaper=International Center of Photography|date=23 February 2016}} CaixaForum Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain, 2014–15;{{Cite web|url=http://prensa.lacaixa.es/obrasocial/exposicion-sebastiao-salgado-genesis-caixaforum-barcelona-esp__816-c-20993__.html|title=Sebastião Salgado. Génesis. CaixaForum Barcelona|website=prensa.lacaixa.es|language=es|access-date=1 October 2017}} Sejong Center, Seoul, South Korea, 2014–15;{{Cite news|url=https://siteofspecialthings.com/2014/10/15/genesis-photography-exhibition-sebastiao-salgado/|title=Genesis Photography Exhibition – Sebastião Salgado|date=15 October 2014|work=Site of Special Things – Travel, Arts & Entertainment|access-date=1 October 2017}} Cordoaria Nacional, Lisbon, Portugal, 2015;{{Cite web |date=15 March 2021 |title=Exhibition. Génesis. Sebastião Salgado |url=https://galeriasmunicipais.pt/en/exposicoes/genesis/ |access-date=24 May 2025 |website=Galerias Municipais de Lisboa |language=en-US}} CaixaForum Palma, Palma, Spain, 2015;{{Cite web |last= |date=5 January 2016 |title=CaixaFòrum Palma supera els 304.000 visitants el 2015 |url=https://www.arabalears.cat/cultura/caixaforum-palma-supera-visitants_1_1744667.html |access-date=24 May 2025 |website=Ara Balears |language=ca}} Amerika Haus Berlin, Berlin, 2015; Power Station of Art, Shanghai, China, 2015; Kunstfoyer, Munich, Germany, 2015–16; Prague Castle, Prague, Czech Republic, 2017;{{cite news|url=http://www.prague.eu/en/event/14443/sebastiao-salgado-genesis?back=1|title=Sebastião Salgado: Genesis|date=2 June 2017|publisher=Tourist website of Prague|accessdate=11 July 2017}} Nederlands Fotomuseum, Rotterdam, Netherlands, 2017{{Cite news|url=https://www.nederlandsfotomuseum.nl/en/exhibition/salgado-genesis/|title=Sebastião Salgado: Genesis |work=Nederlands Fotomuseum|access-date=29 July 2017}}
• Déclaration, Musée de l'Homme, Paris, 2018–19{{cite web|access-date=13 June 2019|title=Déclarations, exposition photo Sebastião Salgado|url=http://www.museedelhomme.fr/fr/visitez/agenda/exposition/declarations-exposition-photo-sebastiao-salgado|website=Musée de l'Homme}}
• Amazônia, Philharmonie de Paris, 2021;{{cite web|first1=Philip Andrew|last1=Churm|access-date=25 July 2021|title=Salgado's exhibition highlights Amazon forest destruction|url=https://www.euronews.com/2021/05/22/brazilian-photographer-salgado-highlights-amazon-forest-destruction|date=22 May 2021|website=euronews}} Science Museum, London, 2021–22;{{cite web|access-date=2 April 2023|title=Amazônia|url=https://www.scienceandindustrymuseum.org.uk/what-was-on/amazonia|website=Science and Industry Museum}} Science and Industry Museum, Manchester, UK, 2022 MAXXI, Rome, 2021–22;{{cite web|access-date=2 April 2023|title=Sebastião Salgado. Amazônia – MAXXI|url=https://www.maxxi.art/en/events/sebastiao-salgado/|date=16 February 2021|website=www.maxxi.art}} Serviço Social do Comércio, Sao Paulo, 2022–23;{{cite web|access-date=2 April 2023|title=Exposição 'Amazônia', de Sebastião Salgado, estreia no Sesc Pompeia|url=https://www.sescsp.org.br/exposicao-amazonia-de-sebastiao-salgado-estreia-no-sesc-pompeia/|website=sescsp.org.br|date=14 February 2022}} Museum of Tomorrow, Rio de Janeiro, 2021–22;{{cite web|last1=imoebius|access-date=2 April 2023|title="Fruturos – Tempos Amazônicos" exhibition in Rio de Janeiro – ATTO|url=https://www.attoproject.org/amazon-exhibition-in-rio-de-janeiro/|date=18 February 2022}} California Science Center, Los Angeles, 2022,{{cite web | title=In the lush Amazon, a photographer hopes to document life before it is too late |work=All Things Considered|publisher=NPR | date=2 November 2022 | url=https://www.npr.org/2022/11/02/1133560731/a-new-exhibition-features-photos-of-the-amazon-and-indigenous-leaders |first=Mandalit |last=del Barco|access-date=7 April 2023}} Teatro Fernán Gómez, Madrid, 2023–24.{{Cite web |title=Exposición fotográfica Amazonia de Sebastião Salgado en Madrid |url=https://amazoniasebastiaosalgado.com/expo/ |access-date=18 July 2023 |website=amazoniasebastiaosalgado.com |language=es-ES}}

• Pruemopterus salgadoi, an extinct species of eurypterid named after Salgado

{{Clear}}

{{Reflist}}

{{Commons category multi | Sebastião Salgado | Instituto Terra}}

• [https://refloresta.institutoterra.org/home/ Instituto Terra]
• [http://www.amazonasimages.com Amazonas Images]—Photo agency formed by Salgado and his wife Lélia Wanick
• [https://www.theguardian.com/arts/salgado/story/0,15021,1301926,00.html Biography: Sebastião Salgado] at The Guardian
• [http://www.ted.com/talks/sebastiao_salgado_the_silent_drama_of_photography.html "Sebastião Salgado: The silent drama of photography" TED Talk] (17 minute video)
• [https://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/31/arts/design/31fink.html "Back to Nature, in Pictures and Action"], The New York Times, 2009
• [http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/sumeet-grover/genesis-by-sebastiao-salgado-review_b_3302842.html "Genesis by Sebastião Salgado: Exhibition Review"], Huffington Post UK, 2013
• [https://llacademy.org/blog/sebastiao-salgado-photography/ "Timeless Tales by Sebastião Salgado"], Light and Life Academy – Photography College, 2001
• [https://www.britannica.com/biography/Sebastiao-Salgado Sebastião Salgado] at Encyclopædia Britannica
• {{IMDb name|0758204}}
• {{Discogs artist|Sebastião Salgado}}

{{Hasselblad Award}}

{{Order of Cultural Merit}}

{{Prince of Asturias Award for the Arts}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Salgado, Sebastiao}}

Category:1944 births

Category:2025 deaths

Category:20th-century Brazilian people

Category:21st-century Brazilian people

Category:Brazilian photojournalists

Category:Brazilian socialists

Category:Commandeurs of the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres

Category:Culture in Minas Gerais

Category:Deaths from leukemia in France

Category:Expatriate photographers in Sudan

Category:Federal University of Espírito Santo alumni

Category:Fine art photographers

Category:Knights of the Legion of Honour

Category:Magnum photographers

Category:Social documentary photographers

Category:University of Paris alumni

Category:University of São Paulo alumni