by Olivia Noss // Dec. 19, 2025
Eve Arnold’s retrospective ‘Capturing Compassion’ at f³ – freiraum für fotografie showcases the artist’s luminous career as one of the first women photographers to join the renowned Magnum Photos agency. Originally from Philadelphia and born at the turn of the 20th century, Arnold began her photographic career in her mid-30s, earning her place in the ranks among her peers through her humanistic approach to portraiture and reportage.
Malcolm X at a Black Muslims rally. Washington, D.C., 1961 // © Eve Arnold/Magnum Photos
In the exhibition—which features close to 140 works from her archive—visitors are met with a wide ranging sequence of photojournalistic work. Arnold captures Black life in the United States, particularly the political activism of Malcolm X at his rallies for Black Muslim solidarity. With the same facility, she portrays vibrant beauty pageant culture in New York’s Harlem neighborhood. Arnold’s steady hand renders these worlds with curiosity. Less concerned with the onstage performances, the photographer gravitated towards intimate moments behind the scenes when participants prepared themselves in the comfort of private rooms. The making of these images by a white photographer was quite radical for its time, given that segregation was still in full swing in the United States when the photos were taken. The resulting photographs provide a delicate and unique glimpse into Black life, particularly expressions of pride, femininity and elegance during the 1950s.
A nurse listens to a foetal heartbeat. Nquta, Zululand, 1973 // © Eve Arnold/Magnum Photos
On the second floor, the stairs meet a room filled with portraits of actors from the Golden Age of Hollywood. Most notably, there’s a series of behind-the-scenes photographs from the making of ‘The Misfits,’ a commission Magnum had assigned Arnold in 1961. The film’s lead, Marilyn Monroe, had up until then been one of Arnold’s most esteemed and captured subjects. In one image, Monroe flirts with the camera, pouting her lips as if to blow a kiss. In a more tender moment, the star is found lost in thought, looking morosely out of the window of a pickup truck in between takes. Another image depicts Monroe sharing a secret with her former husband and writer, Arthur Miller, both draped in shadow from light pouring through a latticed window. Arnold’s sensitivity granted her trust from the star. Monroe’s compulsive performance in front of the camera could be considered a mask, in part, which she lets down considerably for Arnold throughout this time. Instead, the photographer caught Monroe in more authentic and vulnerable moments in ways that other photographers hadn’t ever achieved.
Marilyn Monroe on the set of The Misfits. Nevada, 1960 // © Eve Arnold / Magnum Photos
Meeting at a young age, the two women formed a lifelong friendship rooted in photographic collaboration. They connected every handful of years, shooting together, as we see in the frames that follow in the exhibition. In one photograph, Monroe can be seen immersed in a hard copy of ‘Ulysses’ on a park bench. Another image reveals a coquette Monroe, covered only by a sheet and seated on a wrought iron chair, looking coyly over her shoulder towards the lens.
The last segment of the exhibition presents a salon-style hang of movie stars. Intimate scenarios featuring actresses, like Joan Crawford, can be found, as they apply makeup and survey themselves at their vanities. In the harsh glare of celebrity, many actors, particularly women, hardened their shells behind the lenses of photographers. Arnold knew how to give her subjects privacy and distance, with the understanding that a fundamental respect and trust needed to be built in order for them to open up to her fully. A collection of sultry Marlene Dietrich portraits in grid form floats across the wall—Arnold captures her singing in a recording studio in low light with a cigarette in hand. Hollywood starlet Crawford can be seen, once again, holding up her hair in front of a younger portrait of herself, hung on the wall behind her. A young Isabella Rossellini sits on the grass reading while on set for the filming of David Lynch’s ‘Blue Velvet.’
Joan Crawford in her dressing room during filming of ‘The Best of Everything,’ Hollywood, California, 1959 // © Eve Arnold/Magnum Photos
Arnold once expressed the ideal attitude of an image maker: “if a photographer cares about the people before the lens and is compassionate, much is given. It is the photographer, not the camera, that is the instrument.” While it isn’t only compassion that Arnold captures, her generosity of spirit clearly led her to subjects who were vulnerable and willing to share themselves with her. The courageousness of her approach and the sensitivity of her execution remind us that the act of photographing can function as an expression of reverence and care.
Exhibition Info
f³ – freiraum für fotografie
Eve Arnold: ‘Capturing Compassion’
Exhibition: Dec. 6, 2025–Mar. 1, 2026
fhochdrei.org
Prinzessinnenstraße 30/1. Hof, 10969 Berlin, click here for map
