Christopher Anderson

Christopher Anderson Biography 

Christopher Anderson - photographer in residence for New York Magazine between 2011 and 2013 - is one of the most influential photographers of his generation. Anderson is known for creating images imbued with emotive subjectivity and a characteristic truthfulness that have rightfully brought the photographer worldwide acclaim. 

Anderson was born in Canada in 1970 but would spend his formative years growing up in West Texas. He also became a naturalized French citizen in 2017.

Christopher Anderson’s photography career began when Anderson started working for local newspapers, and by 1999 the photographer gained worldwide recognition for a photograph taken on assignment for New York Times Magazine. 

The image was captured by Anderson whilst sailing to America alongside a group of 44 Haitian immigrants on a small wooden boat that would later sink in the Caribbean. The striking image of the vessel, named “Believe in God”, went on to be awarded the 2000 Robert Capa Gold Medal for “best published photographic reporting from abroad requiring exceptional courage and enterprise”. 

Following his newfound acclaim, Anderson was appointed to roles with major magazines and worked for ten years as the Contract Photographer for Both Newsweek and National Geographic Magazine. 

By 2011, Anderson became New York Magazine’s Photographer in Residence, the first photographer to ever fill this position. 

During his time working for New York Magazine, Anderson’s work diversified to include both portraiture and fashion photography culminating in seminal images of notable figures including Spike Lee, Debby Harry, Al Gore, David Letterman, Barack Obama, and Donald Trump in the Oval Office. 

There is no doubt that Anderson’s contributions helped shape the magazine’s lasting visual identity, the influence of which can still be seen in publication to this day. 

After becoming a father in 2008, Anderson’s first book, SON, was published in 2012. The publication marks a new direction in Anderson’s work, imbued with a characteristic intimacy reflective of Anderson’s own immediate personal experiences. 

Christopher Anderson has since published five more photographic monographs: Nonfiction (2004), Stump (2014), Capitolo (2009), Approximate Joy (2018), and Bleu Blanc Rouge (2018). 

His 2004 publication, Nonfiction, is inspired by a chance encounter with a Holga – a plastic toy camera manufactured in China. Anderson’s 2014 monograph, Stump, offers a photographic narrative of the 2008 presidential campaign. Capitolo (2009) provides an emotive and cinematic journey through Caracas. In Approximate Joy (2018), Anderson turns his lens towards Shenzhen, China, and in Bleu Blanc Rouge (2018), Anderson, yet again, proves his diversity of accomplishment through this visual exploration of French culture. 

Today, Anderson lives and works out of New York and Barcelona. Christopher Anderson has been a member of Magnum Photos for over ten years, during which his work has explored a multitude of socio-political issues and themes all over the world. 

Anderson has also been nominated for the Pulitzer Prize for his work that continues to defy easy categorization. Anderson’s photography is masterfully moving, evocative, intimate, and poetic in nature. 

Anderson consistently applies his unique photographic style and spirit to a diverse framework that has, over the years, come to include war reporting, commercial and editorial work, fashion photography, art, and documentary-making.