Face of Time, or in German, Gesicht der Zeit, was a photography exhibition that was shown in Europe in 1955. Afterwards, it was packed away and forgotten in an Innsbruck basement for fifty years. The participating photographers were early members of Magnum Photos, a collective of documentary photographers that had been formed in 1947. A selection of these images have been used to create a renewed ‘Face of Time’ and features photos by Robert Capa, Jean Marquis, Henri Cartier-Bresson, Erich Lessing, Inge Morath, Marc Riboud, and Ernst Haas.
below: By Erich Lessing (1923-2018), Vienna Boys Choir 1955.
below: Ernest Haas (1921-1986). Haas was the on-set photographer for 1955 film ‘Land of the Pharaohs’ that was filmed in Egypt.
below: Jean Marquis (1926-2019), both pictures taken in Hungary in 1954
below: Henri Cartier-Bresson’s (1908-2004) photos of Mahatma Gandhi
“To take a photograph is to align the head, the eye and the heart. It’s a way of life.”
– Henri Cartier-Bresson
below: Marc Riboud (1923-2016), photos taken in Dalmatia region of Yugoslavia (now Croatia) – scenes of post-war rural life, working in the fields, spinning wool, and meeting at a cattle market.
below: A few images taken by the lone woman photographer in the exhibit, Inge Morath (1923-2002) – all taken in London England.
below: And last, but not least, by Robert Capa. He died in 1954 when he stepped on a landmine in Vietnam while working on a feature for “life” magazine. The photo show here is a village festival in Basque country.
Originally shown at the TMU Image Centre at the end of 2025, it remained until 4th April of this year. Unfortunately the exhibit is now over and the centre is closed while it prepares for next month’s exhibits. May has been CONTACT Photography Festival month here in Toronto for quite a few years now and one of the events is a showing by the previous years winner of the Scotiabank Photography Award at the TMU Image Centre. Last year’s winner, and this this year’s feature photographer is Dawit L. Petros.
as I walk Toronto 