Gelatin silver print
India, 1946
Margaret Bourke-White (1904-1971) – American documentary photographer
Matted
Dimensions: 10 ¼ x 13 in. (26 x 33 cm.)
Overall dimensions: 16 x 20 in. (40.6 x 50.8 cm.)
Very good condition

Few public figures of the 20th century are as instantly recognizable as Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi, and this portrait by celebrated photographed Margaret Bourke-White is among the most closely associated with the civil disobedience pioneer. Seated beside his spinning wheel – cherished and revered by Gandhi and his followers – the leader of the Indian independence movement reads clippings, seemingly unaware of Bourke-White’s camera just a few feet in front of him. Although not originally included in the LIFE magazine article for which it was taken, this photograph has become one of the most emblematic of Gandhi’s vision.

Executed in 1946, this gelatin silver print measures 10 ¼ x 13 inches. Excellent, original condition.

Margaret Bourke-White (American, 1904-1971)

Documentary photographer and photojournalist Margaret Bourke-White is best known as the first female war correspondent, and the first to be allowed into combat zones during World War II. Born in the Bronx, New York, Bourke-White opened a photography studio in Cleveland, specializing in industrial and architectural photography first getting her start with the Otis Steel Company in 1927. In 1929, Bourke-White began her career in photojournalism as the first photographer for Fortune Magazine before moving to Life in 1935. In April, 1945, she traveled through war-torn Germany with General Patton, taking images of the war within the walls of Buchenwald. Throughout her life she received numerous awards and accolades.