Marilyn Stafford
Exceptional Achievement in Photography
HOW MANY photographers can say they started their career taking the portrait of one of the 20th century’s most iconic figures? The recipient of our Exceptional Achievement in Photography Award did just that, capturing none other than Albert Einstein in his home in 1948. Never setting out to be a photographer, she received her ‘training’ for that particular photo shoot in the back of the car on the way to Einstein’s house – there’s nothing like being thrown in at the deep end.
It’s not surprising that her very first portrait continues to be of interest all these years later, but she would go on to so much more. Born in Cleveland, Ohio, Marilyn has spent the vast majority of her life living and working in Europe. She first visited the continent accompanying a friend whose husband had cheated on her and had forced the guilty party to pay up for the transatlantic jaunt. Had it not been for this trip, the rest of Marilyn’s impressive career might never have got started.
That career went on to span four decades, during which Marilyn Stafford was well ahead of her time, carving out a successful career in a world almost completely dominated by male photographers. Working in fashion photography in Paris in the 1950s, she pioneered a type of shot style that had never been seen before – images of women wearing ready-to-wear clothes on the streets of the city, rather than stiff and formal studio portraits.
Remarkably humble and self- effacing, Marilyn would probably tell you that this was down to a lack of desire to learn how elaborate lighting set- ups worked, but whatever the reason, the results were striking for their realism in an era that was moving from the uppity world of haute couture. It’s easy to see how this shooting style was a launching point for her early work with children in the slums of Paris, the start of her documentary career.
Counting luminaries such as Robert Capa and Henri
Cartier- Bresson among her friends, her life would continue to be a series of twists, turns and lucky chances. In Paris, she married and travelled to Tunisia to photograph Algerian refugees (something which she did while six months pregnant, no less). The resulting photographs were sent to The Observer by CartierBresson, and would become her first front-page feature.
Some years later, following the separation from her husband, Marilyn moved to London with her daughter, Lina. Here, she found herself working in Fleet Street at a time when you could count the number of female contemporaries on one hand. Although times have certainly changed immensely since then, there’s still plenty of work to be done – which is where Marilyn’s next project comes in.
Now living on the South Coast, she stopped taking photos herself ‘when it went digital’, she says, but Marilyn’s involvement in the craft is far from over – in fact her role is arguably even more important than ever.
Passionate advocate
Unsurprisingly, she is a passionate advocate for women in photography, and as such she set up the Marilyn Stafford FotoReportage Award in 2017. In association with FotoDocument, it is a social enterprise which highlights positive social or environmental initiatives. At inception, the award was generously self-funded by Marilyn, with the aim to award a small amount of money to a female photographer. More than 60 entrants from all over the world applied for the prize, leading to extra sponsorship from Olympus for the 2018 prize – as well as an exhibition of the winners and runners- up.
It is a great honour to present this AP award to Marilyn, who should be recognised and rewarded for both her own fantastic career spanning several decades at a tricky time, and her devotion to helping to make sure that we don’t get complacent about the role of female photographers in today’s society. A woman with hundreds of fascinating stories, Marilyn is a fearless advocate for photography, despite being 93, and she is a thoroughly deserving recipient of the Exceptional Achievement in Photography award.
If you would like to know more about Marilyn’s life, her extensive body of work, or how you can apply for the FotoReportage photography award, visit www. marilynstaffordphotography.com/foto-reportage-award.
‘She was working in Fleet Street when you could count her female contemporaries on one hand’