George Rodger The Wrestlers, Kordofan, Sudan 1949 © George Rodger / Magnum Photos

Biography

Born 1908
Died 1955
Nationality English
Birth place Hale
Death place Smarden

George Rodger was one of the original photographers who formed the Magnum photographic agency in 1947. After experiencing the horror of the concentration camp at Belsen, which he photographed in 1945, Rodger felt an urgent need to leave Europe and the pain of war. He set off with his wife on a long overland journey through Africa. The crowning experience of the journey was their encounter with the Nuba tribe in southern Sudan. Henri Cartier-Bresson, said of him: 'George Rodger belongs to the great tradition of explorers and adventurers. His work is a moving testimony through time and space'.

Glossary terms

Glossary terms

Magnum Photos

Magnum is a photographic co-operative founded in 1947 that is perhaps the world’s best known picture agency, renowned for its documentary photography. Many important photographers have been members including Robert Capa, Henri Cartier-Bresson, Eve Arnold and Susan Meiselas.

Documentary photography

A style of photographs that presents straightforward records of events, people and places, often recording important historical or political moments.