Marc Riboud was born in Lyon, France, in 1923. At the age of 14 he began taking photographs with a camera given to him by his father. During World War II he was a member of the resistance, opposing the Nazi occupation of the country. Later he studied engineering at École Centrale de Lyon and worked as an engineer in a factory. After covering the theatrical festival of Lyon as a photographer while on holiday, he quit his job to become a freelance photographer. In 1953 he joined the Magnum agency. In 1957 he visited China for the first time and continued to take photos of China for more than 40 years. He visited Japan in 1958 and “Women of Japan” (author:Christine Arnothy) was his first book. From 1975 to 1978 he served as the president of Magnum and in 1980 he became a contributor. He won the Overseas Press Club award twice, in 1966 and 1970. Numerous exhibitions of his photographs have been held in New York, Paris, and all over the world, and his photographs have been published in many books.
