Photographs by Ian Berry from the Observer Colour Magazine

Digital prints of photographs taken during assignments for the Observer Magazine in the 1960s, although not all were published in the magazine.

Ian Berry grew up in Lancashire but moved to South Africa at the age of 21. He worked for various publications including Drum and the Rand Daily Mail. He was the only photographer to document the Sharpeville massacre in South Africa in 1960, and his photographs were later used in the trial proving the victims' innocence.

He left South Africa in 1961 and in 1962 he relocated to Paris where he was invited by Henri Cartier-Bresson to join the Magnum Photo Agency.

He moved to England in 1964 where he joined the Observer Magazine, which was then under the editorship of Michael Davie, Paul Mandel and Bryn Campbell. He was the magazine’s first contract photographer. He contributed to the Observer magazine between 1964 and 1970.

Chronological

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Digital prints produced by Magnum Photos London for the exhibition 'Ian Berry: the early history of the colour supplement'. Exhibition held at The Newsroom, the Guardian and Observer archive and visitor centre, in 2007.

A full catalogue description for this collection can be found on the GNM Archive catalogue.