Danny Lyon’s Civil Rights Photography

Humanist and documentary photography offer a poignant and intimate view of moments of history. Like the images from the FSA photographers capturing the worry and despondency of those living in America’s dust bowl, photographers present for the Civil Rights movement in the following decades showcased the urgency and anguish of the moment.

Danny Lyon served as the first staff photographer for the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) and pioneered a mode of photojournalism in which the photographer is deeply embedded with his subjects. Lyon traveled to the South in 1962 and documented sit-ins, protests, marches, and the key figures associated with the movement. The resulting imagery became a key factor in disseminating information, and images remain deeply felt and powerful today, both art, important documents of history, journalism, and meaningful tools.

Below we share a small selection of these images on offer in our February 10, 2022 sale.

Danny Lyon, James Baldwin Speaks at Freedom Day, Selma, Alabama, silver print, 1963, printed 2010. Estimate $2,500 to $3,500.