ging copyrights, the photographers themselves would
make all decisions about the cooperative. Magnum’s
services were paid through a percentage of each
photographer’s earnings: Magnum would receive
40% of fees paid for assignments received through
the agency, 30% for assignments made directly
through the photographer, and 50% of each photo-
grapher’s reprints. Any profits would be divided
amongst the shareholders to offset the year’s fees.
After the first year, Bill and Rita Vandivert left
Magnum, with Bill believing he would fare better
with his existing magazine relationships. Maria
Eisner took over as president, but with now only
four photographers, the group needed additional
members. Capa, Chim, Cartier-Bresson, and Rod-
ger agreed that members should not only be first-
rate photographers, but should also fit in with the
group’s ideals. Werner Bischof, the first Magnum
invitee, had recently made a name for himself by
photographing the devastation in Europe following
World War II. He joined in 1949. Bischof explained
what convinced him to join this new venture: Mag-
num’s photographers were ‘‘the best in the world—
Capa, Cartier-Bresson, Chim, and Rodger. What is
important to me is that they are all sound people
and socialist-inspired...They are free people, too
independent to tie themselves to one magazine’’
(Miller, 1997, 74). Ernst Haas, Magnum’s next
inductee, received simultaneous invitations to join
Magnum andLife. In a letter turning downLife’s
offer, he explained, ‘‘What I want is to stay free, so
that I can carry out my ideas... I don’t think there
are many editors who could give me the assign-
ments I give myself’’ (Miller 1997, 75).
Magnum continued to hand-select new members
they saw as a good fit, such as Dennis Stock, the
winner of aLifecontest for young photographers.
It also admitted eager new photographers with
enough gumption (or luck) to bring in a portfolio,
such as Eve Arnold and Erich Hartmann. Many of
Magnum’s early members joined after meeting and
receiving encouragement from a current member.
In the early years, Magnum was more of a friendly
club than an elite agency. Through this spirit of
camaraderie, many of the more experienced photo-
graphers, including Capa and Cartier-Bresson,
advised young members on editing or traveling in
unfamiliar territory. Occasionally new recruits
worked with senior members as assistants and
researchers, which functioned much like an appren-
ticeship, although no such formal arrangement
existed. Many young Magnum members note the
excellent education they received by studying the
agency’s archives, which included vast numbers of
contact sheets from some of the world’s best pho-
tographers. These junior members started with
small projects and gradually moved up to more
important assignments.
After asking Maria Eisner to leave when she
became pregnant, Capa took over as president of
Magnum in 1951. He found the position tedious and
passed the responsibility on to Rodger after less
than a year. Rodger, too, disliked the position. At
Magnum’s inception, Rodger had suggested hiring
two businessmen as directors of the agency, to leave
the photographers free to take pictures. His idea
then was dismissed, as the other members did not
want to relinquish control to non-photographers.
As president, Rodger again suggested establishing
a board of directors to oversee the agency’s admin-
istration. This time, the members agreed that Capa
would return to the position of president, but to
reduce his responsibilities, they would form a
board of directors comprised of the original Mag-
num founders and hire an editorial manager to
handle the business administration. They hired
John Morris, then picture editor atLadies’ Home
Journal, who was one of Magnum’s best customers.
Almost immediately, Morris and Capa began
arguing about whether to expand the agency. Mor-
ris did not see financial viability without growth,
and Capa did not believe the cooperative could
support more than a dozen or so photographers.
Magnum’s reliance on its photographer-mem-
bers for governance was intended to help ensure
the artistic integrity of the organization and, to
some extent, support it against pressure to submit
unwillingly to commercial demands. The downfall
of being run by its members was that, as photogra-
phers, they had only a secondary interest in the
business of running the company. This lack of
business development has caused tremendous diffi-
culties for the organization, which—despite its suc-
cess—has seemed on the verge of financial collapse
since its inception.
Magnum’s precarious finances have caused
much conflict within the organization. The focus
on each photographer’s artistic or journalistic free-
dom over his or her financial responsibility to the
organization has left some members feeling that
they carry the bulk of the agency’s financial bur-
den. Commercial assignments are usually the most
lucrative assignments, even for the best photogra-
phers. The photographers willing to work on such
projects are Magnum’s lifeblood—it could not sur-
vive on photographers’ personal projects alone. On
the other hand, many members feel that working
on commercial projects compromises the artistic
integrity of their agency. Tension between those
photographers who consider themselves artistsMAGNUM PHOTOS