Russell (Russ) Melcher Sold at Auction Prices

b. 1949 -

I was born in Englewood New Jersey, USA . We moved when I was 8 years old to Miami Beach, Florida.

In 1941, I moved with my mother to New York City and at the age of 16, I moved to my own apartment on the Lower East Side of the City.I had a friend who worked in a photo lab making duplicate slides for the US Army training program.

He supplied me with 35mm film for a dollar a roll, development included, so I went out and bought a cheap 35 mm camera and started taking pictures. During the Korean war, the US army shipped me to Germany where I bought my first professional cameras.

I was (honorably) discharged from the US Army in Paris, France, where I landed with my professional cameras and a car. I have been a resident of France ever since 1953.

In a café, in the Latin quarter, where I hung out, there were also several professional photographers who occasionally gave me work to do, and that was the start of my career as a photographer.Through friends, an American and later an English agency, took me on and gave me assignments.

A Frenchman starting a photo agency in France, DALMAS hired me as a photographer in 1958 . I left in August 1966 for another agency -VIP - where I became part owner.

Magnum Photo Agency came to me in February 1966 and asked me to become its European Director.

In May 1972, I left Magnum to become Photo editor of two magazines of the Paris Match group. Later I went to work for the Filipacchi Magazine group where I worked as Photo editor for several of the magazines of the group.

In the 1980's I retired from the Group and worked for ten more years as a freelancer for several foreign agencies and magazines.

I am now retired and live in the south of France where I get to tell stories about the good old days of photography.

My work appeared in Paris Match, LIFE Magazine, Stern, EPOCA, Melody Maker, Picture Post, Jours de France. And many other publications…


Russell W. Melcher