12 ICONIC PHOTOGRAPHS OF PARIS

Marc Riboud Painter on the Eiffel Tower 1953 (detail), The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, purchase funded by the Mundy Companies, 99-82 © Marc Riboud, Magnum Photos/Copyright Agency, photo © The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, Will Michels
Marc Riboud Painter on the Eiffel Tower 1953 (detail), The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, purchase funded by the Mundy Companies, 99-82 © Marc Riboud, Magnum Photos/Copyright Agency, photo © The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, Will Michels

What makes Paris so special for photographers? And what impact do iconic photographs have on our perceptions of The City of Light?

In an hour-long talk at the Art Gallery of NSW, Sydney-based photographer Tony Maniaty will be exploring 12 iconic images - by Robert Doisneau, Henri-Cartier Bresson and others - that have shaped our view of Paris, via the streets and cafes, society and high fashion, the cultural scene.

A fascinating journey through the lens of master photographers, capturing a dozen classic moments that have shaped and sustained the dream of Paris as the city of beauty and love.

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February

Melbourne: 28 Nov 2025 – 26 May 2026. The exhibition celebrates the wide-ranging photographic practices of more than eighty women artists working between 1900 and 1975.

Sydney: Until 11 April. Unfinished Business brings together the voices of 30 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people living with disabilities from remote, regional, and urban communities across Australia.

Canberra: Until 6 Sept 2026. Trent Parke’s photographic series The Christmas tree bucket 2006–09 is a tender and darkly humorous portrayal of his extended family coming together to celebrate Christmas.

Melbourne: 11 Feb – 25 April 2026. Familial brings together six international artists whose work navigates the emotional and psychological terrain of family.

March

Sydney: Until 7 Feb 2027. From his archive of more than 200,000 images, Close Up celebrates the historic moments and pivotal people he famously captured.

Sydney: 03 March – 26 March 2026. NSW at Night is a photography exhibition offering a glimpse into life after dark across New South Wales, through the people, places and rhythms that shape it.

Melbourne: 5 March – 7 August 2026. Between the mid-1970s and early 1990s, artist and social documentary photographer Viva Gibb (1945-2017) documented the suburbs of North and West Melbourne, where she lived.

Melbourne: 7 March – 24 May 2026. Photos of flowers from the NGA collection by prominent photographers drawn such as Robert Mapplethorpe and four groundbreaking Australian photographers.

Melbourne: 10 March – 5 May 2026. TOPshots is an annual celebration of emerging photo-media artists selected from a large pool of entries.

April

Sydney: 9 April event 6-9pm. Unfinished is a free event to show/see photo-based work in progress or recently completed personal projects run by photographers for photographers.