Steve McCurry: Afghan Girl Cards

Afghan Girl is perhaps the most memorable of all of photographer Steve McCurry's portraits. This powerful and beautiful image, taken in Pakistan in 1985, is of a twelve-year-old girl McCurry encountered in the makeshift classroom of a refugee camp during the Afghanistan War.

Afghan Girl is an outstanding example of McCurry's use of colour and his unique way of connecting with people, talents that have won him numerous photographic awards and assignments for National Geographic magazine.

 

Steve McCurry (b.1950) launched his career as a photojournalist when, disguised in native garb, he crossed the Pakistan border into Afghanistan over twenty years ago. His remarkable coverage won him the Robert Capa Gold Medal which is given to photographers who exhibit exceptional courage and enterprise. Famous also for his work in Southeast Asia, his photographs are beautiful, uplifting and powerful. McCurry works for many international journals and is a long-standing contributor to National Geographic magazine. He is a member of Magnum Photos.