Iconic images of Marilyn Monroe gambling at the tables in Reno, Neil Armstrong on the moon and Ingrid Bergman are up for grabs at Magnum Photo Studios’ bi-annual sale. 

Titled ‘Written By Light‘, the exhibition is selling 107 photographs signed or estate-stamped prints of iconic pictures, including some which have never seen before. 

The sale is in collaboration with the World Press Photo Foundation. Both studios aim to celebrate the basic difference between photography and AI-generated images: the use of light. 

The collection comprises work by 76 Magnum photographers, estates, and 31 World Press Photo winners. All of the 6 x 6 sized photographs are priced at $110.

A portion of the profits will be donated to the International Committee of the Red Cross. The selection of pictures being sold spans five decades. 

Magnum Studio President, Cristina de Middel said: ‘As photographers, we were all at some point, seduced by light and the possibility of capturing it in our own unique way.

‘The time feels right to go back to our roots and reflect on the very origins of our photographic practice, to the camera obscura, and how an image is recorded by the impact of light on a surface.’ 

The Magnum Photo Studio represents some of the world’s most renowned photographers and has existed for more than 70 years. 

Known for their rare pictures, the studio has produced some of the most iconic images since the Second World War. 

Its website reads: ‘In short, when you picture an iconic image, but can’t think who took it or where it can be found, it probably came from Magnum.’

Over the years, the studio has provided pictures to media, charities, publishers, brands and cultural institutions. It considers itself as a ‘living archive’.