Brazilian photographer Sebastiao Salgado dies at age 81, his institute says

SAO PAULO (AP) — Brazilian photographer and environmentalist Sebastião Salgado, known for his award-winning images of nature and humanity, has died at age 81.

Instituto Terra, which was founded by him and his wife, confirmed the information Friday, but did not provide more details on the circumstances of Salgado’s death or where it took place. The French Academy of Fine Arts, of which Salgado was a member, also confirmed his death.

The photographer had suffered from various health problems for many years after contracting malaria in the 1990s.

“Sebastião was more than one of the best photographers of our time,” Instituto Terra said in a statement. “His lense revealed the world and its contradictions; his life, (brought) the power of transformative action.”

“We will continue to honor his legacy, cultivating the land, the justice and the beauty that he so deeply believed could be restored,” it added.

One of Brazil’s most famous artists, Salgado’s life and work were portrayed in the documentary film “The Salt of the Earth” (2014), co-directed by Wim Wenders and his son, Juliano Ribeiro Salgado.

He received a number of awards, and was elected an honorary member of the Academy of Arts and Sciences in the United States in 1992 and to the French Academy of Fine Arts in 2016.

Born in the city of Aimores, in the countryside of the Minas Gerais state in Brazil, Salgado moved to France in 1969 as Brazil endured a military dictatorship. He started to fully dedicate his time to photography in 1973, years after his economics degree.

His style is marked by black-and-white imagery, rich tonality, and emotionally-charged scenarios. Impoverished communities were among his main interests.

Among his main works are the recent series “Amazonia;" “Workers” which shows manual labor around the world; and “Exodus” (also known as “Migrations” or “Sahel”), which documents people in transit, including refugees and slum residents.

Salgado and his wife, Lélia Wanick Salgado, founded Amazonas Images, an agency that exclusively handles his work.

He is also survived by his sons Juliano and Rodrigo.

Brazilian newspaper Folha de S.Paulo, which published several works of Salgado over the last decades, said he recently cancelled a meeting with journalists in the French city of Reims due to health problems. He was scheduled to attend an exhibition with works by his son Rodrigo on Saturday, the daily reported.

___ AP journalist Eleonore Hughes contributed to this report from Rio de Janeiro.