Raised in the United States and England. Martine Franck studied at the University of Madrid (1956-57) and at l'Ecole du Louvre in Paris (1958-1962). After writing her History of Art thesis on the influence of cubism on sculpture she realized that she preferred visual expression to writing; her apprenticeship in photography was under the helm of Eliot Elisofon and Gjon Mili at Time-Life Photo Laboratories in Paris in the mid-1960's and in 1963 she turned to freelance photography, working in China, Japan and India. She became a freelancer for Life, Fortune, Sports Illustrated, New York Times, and Vogue.

Since 1965 she has been a photographer with the cooperative Théâtre du Soleil. In 1970 she married Henri Cartier-Bresson, and until 1971 was a member of the Vu agency in Paris. In 1972 she became one of the founders of the Viva agency in Paris. In 1980 she became an associate of Magnum Photos, and a full member in 1983 (one of only four female members at that time).
Her work is characterized by warmth and understanding of people, specialising in capturing the human condition whether she is photographing Tulkus (young Tibetan spiritual masters), the elderly, the illustrious members of the College of France, or the families of Tory Island off Ireland's Donegal.

Most of her work grazes the simplicities of the everyday, of varied social classes and diversified cultures. However her most noted piece to date, Swimming pool designed by Alain Capeilléres, 1976, reveals a sublime articulation of design—a supreme landscape of geometries softened by the leisurely curves of the gesturing figures. Many of her images feature this kind of purity, with regards to the shapes that make up a given landscape, but for the most part, Franck's work lends itself to a much more personal, portrait-like approach to her subjects.

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Martine Franck’s photographs have been exhibited and collected throughout Europe and the United States. They have also been widely published, most notably in the retrospective monograph ‘One Day to the Next’, published in 1998 by Thames and Hudson.

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If you enjoy the work of Martine Franck, you should also take a look at other Magnum members such as Henri Cartier Bresson, Elliott Erwitt & Marc Riboud.

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