FAQ

You can perform a general search for photos by using the search bar at the top of every page. For more precise results, you can use the extended search function. A basic search is useful if you are just starting out with your research and would like to find as many records as possible that are relevant to a particular subject or theme. 

The extended search function is divided into the sub-groups Picasso and other photos. Select the category you want – Stars, Celebrities, Arts, Miscellaneous – and leave the default setting of Search All or choose Picasso. All search terms entered under Picasso will limit the search to Picasso-related photos.  

Additionally, you can also browse the index in each photo category or the Index of Picasso's friends and associates.

Click on a thumbnail photo for an enlarged view and all related information. Here you can also add the picture to your basket if you would like to place an order.

Under Photos you will find the individual categories with an Index of personalities, and under Miscellaneous a list of subjects. Where there is no link, photos are available upon request, as the original negatives have not yet been digitized. Please revisit for updates.

The extended search option allows you to search within the desired category. If you leave the field “Term” blank, all images in that particular category will be displayed.

Most of the artworks by Picasso that are seen in the photos can be found with their French titles and abbreviated reference sources. The abbreviations are listed in the Bibliography.

The people who appear with Picasso in the photos can be found in the Picasso-specific Index of friends and associates.

If you do not find photos that match your specific needs, please get in touch so we can advise you on what we most likely have. Once we receive your information, we will do a courtesy search and see if we can locate the item you are seeking. As only a smaller number of the negatives have been digitized so far, we could very well have other pictures that might be of interest to you. If necessary, we can digitize these images as well.

It was not always easy to identify specific personalities, artworks, places or dates. If you have suggestions or ideas for more precise identification, or if you happen to find any errors, we kindly request that you inform us.

For all our products, the ordering process is basically the same: choose an image, put it in the basket, provide your personal details, specify the intended use and ask for a quote. We do not fully automate the ordering procedure, as most of our customers prefer individual processing. For example, you do not necessarily have to use the official order form; you can also communicate directly via e-mail.

Normally you will receive an offer from us within 24 hours of placing your request. We do not send out automated replies, but respond personally to each inquiry.

As we own roughly 180,000 negatives for all of Quinn’s photos, we can supply high-resolution files that were directly scanned from the original negatives. You can find detailed information on reproduction licensing here.

The normal turnaround time from receipt of the order is 24 hours or less for regular size digital files, seven days for very large files.

When you have received the image, or when the exact size of the image is known in the case of reproductions, we will send you an invoice with our banking details and all required information. Our preferred payment method is bank wire transfer. Payment with a credit card is only possible via PayPal. Checks are generally not accepted in Switzerland.

Our terms and conditions govern all contractual relations between our customers and the Edward Quinn Archive. The contract is finalized with the order and delivery of the requested photographs. We do not conclude a specific contract, except for exhibitions involving a larger number of photos. The use of the photographs is specified on the invoice. A sample contract for exhibition organizers is available upon request.

We do not provide the original files for download on this website. If you purchase a reproduction license, we will send you a high-resolution file for download via WeTransfer. 

We hold the exclusive rights to all photographs by Edward Quinn. Every picture must be accompanied by this credit line: Photo Edward Quinn, © edwardquinn.com. If a work by any artist is visible in a photograph, the copyright of the artist and/or relevant collecting society must also be given, e.g. © Calder Foundation, New York / 2020, ProLitteris, Zurich. Detailed information on the correct citation of copyright references is provided here.

The purpose of watermarks is to protect our copyright. Especially when photos are posted without permission on social media, the photographer’s name and copyright credit are often missing.

We have a broad client base, including press agencies and book publishers, film producers, auction houses, museums, educational institutions, advertising agencies etc. The reproduction licenses are restricted exclusively for professional, non-private use.

We’re sorry, but we do not offer image files for purchase to be printed at home. We only sell either fine art prints for collectors or high-resolution files for professionals for reproduction in media (specified medium, size, and print run).

The cost of licensing an image varies and depends on several factors, which include type of use (editorial or commercial), size, distribution/circulation, duration of use and commercially generated revenue. Since these factors are unique to each case, please fill out the request form after you have made your selection of images.

Yes, in the resolution of length plus width max. 600 pix/72 dpi. and always with the credit in a corner of the picture: © edwardquinn.com. We regret that this is necessary, but copyright infringement is rampant on social media.

Yes, with the resolution of length plus width max. 1600 pix/72 dpi. and with the correct credit: Photo Edward Quinn, © edwardquinn.com.

Our permission must be obtained for any changes made to a photograph by Quinn. In most cases, the photos we provide are uncropped. If you would like to crop a reproduction, you must first request and receive permission from us. We generally refuse permission for any manipulations of an image other than cropping. You must also receive permission from us for adding text to an image or changing the colors – for example, for a book cover or poster. 

For unusually large displays, it might be necessary for us to produce new scans from the negatives, which usually takes about one week. However, some photos are not suited for use as large-format images for technical reasons.

Print reproductions are made from the original negatives in our holdings. We provide exceptionally high-quality, continuous-tone prints on traditional fiber-based gelatin silver baryta-coated paper. We do not use the less stable polyethylene (PE)/resin coated (RC) paper. Further information on the production, sizes, authentication and other aspects can be found here.

These prints are for personal use only, intended for display at home or in other private spaces, to give as a gift, or to collect. For all other purposes, such as display in public spaces or institutions, permission must be granted by the Edward Quinn Archive.

The prints may also be used for exhibitions. We typically do not sell the prints in such cases, but provide them on loan for a fee.

A print purchased for personal use (estate prints, vintage prints, contact prints) cannot be copied, reproduced, published or used editorially or commercially. The rights of reproduction are controlled by the owner of the copyright. A personal print is for the buyer’s use only: to hang on a wall, give as a gift or collect.

We exclusively offer fine art estate prints. Simple prints, such as digital prints, are not available.

We do not publish our prices here. Please request a current price list.

We normally ship fine art prints in a protective black box with a courier service. Shipping is billed at cost on the basis of our discounted shipping rates.

For regular size prints, the normal turnaround time from receipt of the order is 10 days plus shipping time. 

No, we offer neither frames nor passepartouts. Preferences for such products depend greatly on personal taste as well as the surroundings in which a picture will be displayed.

There is no clear definition of this term. Vintage prints are generally understood to be the earliest prints that the photographer makes soon after developing a negative. Today the term vintage print is often used as a synonym for old photographs. A decisive advantage of vintage prints is always that they are only available in a very low number, in our case usually 1 copy of a photo. Since, by definition, the number of vintage prints cannot be subsequently increased, this corresponds to a maximum limitation of the edition. To learn more about this, click here.

There are only a limited number of vintage prints, most of them measuring from 18 x 24 cm (7 x 9.5 in.) up to 20 x 30 cm (9.5 x 12 in.). With our "extended search" the available vintage prints can be found. The availability of vintage prints of the size 20 x 30 cm (9.5 x 12 in.) is shown in the search results. The availability of 18 x 24 cm (7 x 9.5 in.) is not yet completely recorded but will be added step by step. Please let us know which photo you are interested in, and we will make you an offer – provided we have a corresponding vintage print.

Yes, there are vintage prints in the size of approx. 20 x 30 cm (9.5 x 12 in.) and some 18 x 24 cm (7 x 9.5 in.) with Quinn’s signature.

A contact print is a photographic image directly produced from film negative. It is the same size as the original, rather than having been projected through an enlarger. Contact prints are usually produced as a sheet or strip with the entire film of 20-36 shots. In the darkroom (lab) an exposed and developed piece of film or photographic paper is placed  in contact with a piece of photographic paper, light is shone through the negative and then the paper is developed to reveal the final print. The contact print is used by the photographer to select the image that he wants to enlarge. It is usually a unique copy and the earliest print.

It is usually a unique print and the earliest one made of a particular image, which makes it the most valuable product we offer.

Quinn started with a Kodak bellows camera in 1949 and then purchased a Kodak Retina, before he was able to afford a Rollei. His first Leica was the model IIIf with screw-mounted lenses. All of his 6 x 6 images were taken with the Rolleiflex 2.8 or 3.5. In 1956, he bought a Leica M3, which he used for almost 40 years. Today the camera clearly shows the traces of hard wear. His wife Gret talks about this camera in the film. As a technology enthusiast, he bought and utilized a variety of cameras – for example, a Robot Royal, the Olympus PEN half-frame, a Hasselblad 500C and a Nikkormat – but he always went back to his beloved, extremely quiet Leica M3. In 1966, he was hailed as the “Master of the Leica” in the trade journal Leica Fotografie 4/1966.

All Quinn's photos were taken with analog equipment, before the advent of digital photography. In digital photography, an image is captured by a sensor. In analog photography, a light-sensitive film is used. After the shot, the image is made visible by chemical processes and converted into a negative. The negative can then be used to create paper prints. 

Of all the photos of Quinn, the Edward Quinn Archive owns the original negatives; the digital files and prints were created from these original negatives.

Quinn usually used the black-and-white Kodak films Verichrome Pan, Plus-X Pan and Tri-X, and for color pictures Ektachrome or occasionally Kodachrome. He and his wife developed all of the black-and-white films themselves and also produced the prints – some of which are still available as vintage prints – in their own darkroom.

Of course we welcome your feedback – positive, critical or even negative, the latter hopefully as an exception. You can leave a comment or feedback in the contact section.

A privately run photo archive centered on Edward Quinn’s work—especially his Côte d’Azur pictures from the 1950s–1970s—plus a large Picasso corpus and related documentary material.  

The core photographic holdings focus on the 1950s through the 1970s.  

The archive states Quinn’s work consists of about 180,000 negatives, with 25,000 digitized, and a curated selection published online.  

An Irish photographer (1920–1997) who became a key visual chronicler of Riviera high life, artists, and cultural scenes in the mid-20th century.  

He was moving into Riviera life around the late 1940s/early 1950s and building his career there as the region became a magnet for stars and artists.  

He was unusually shy/sensitive for a press photographer—aiming to stay unobtrusive and not push himself in front of the subject.  

He started as an autodidactic amateur, then landing a job via a London picture agency as a “feature photographer” on the Côte d’Azur.  

Movie stars’ off-screen image became increasingly important—and Quinn captured spontaneous moments that shaped that public mythology.  

Quinn first photographed Picasso in 1951 and remained close until Picasso’s death in 1973; the archive calls Picasso the most comprehensive subset of its holdings.  

Quinn accompanied Picasso in everyday contexts—studio work, private life with family and friends, outings, and more—over decades.  

Yes—his biography lists figures such as Max Ernst, Alexander Calder, Alberto Giacometti,  Francis Bacon, Salvador Dalí, Graham Sutherland, David Hockney, Jean Cocteau, Alberto Magnelli and later a close relationship with Georg Baselitz.  

Quinn documented Monaco racing from around 1950 onward, and it also presents a dedicated Monaco Motor Racing book (1950–1965).  

Yes—example image pages include Grace Kelly on the set of Hitchcock’s To Catch a Thief (Cannes 1954), and racing-related film production tied to Monaco GP (“The Racers”).  

There’s a notable Dublin 1963 street-photography set presented as highlights on the site.  

He published a book James Joyces Dublin (London, 1974) with his Dublin photos and excerpts of Joyce's texts.  

The site’s books list includes Picasso, Friends and Family (2023), Monaco Motor Racing (2022), Riviera Cocktail and Stars & Cars (both 2021).  

Yes—the directed/produced two Picasso films: Picasso, a Portrait (62 min) and Picasso, the Man and his Work (140 min).  

It lists contact sheets, Vintage prints, Fine Art prints, press clippings, manuscripts/notebooks, correspondence/contracts, books, films/videos, and even Quinn’s cameras.  

The archive's base in Hombrechtikon (near Zurich), Switzerland, and  Quinn’s nephew Wolfgang Frei (with Ursula Frei) is caring for the portfolio.  

The archive publishes all Picasso photos deemed artistically/art-historically relevant, while showing only a limited selection for other subjects.  

He was born in Dublin (1920), worked as a musician, served in the RAF as a navigator, and later flew civilian routes (including the Berlin Airlift). In 1949 he moved to Monaco with his Swiss partner Gret while looking for a new direction.  

He was self-taught (books and photo journals), started with straightforward Riviera subjects, and soon established himself as a freelance photojournalist.  

Form example major outlets including Paris Match, Life, Tempo, or Revue.  

He was building a discreet tip network—bartenders, secretaries, doormen, and reception staff at luxury hotels—who would alert him without being exposed.  

Quinn writes that after Prince Rainier and Grace Kelly’s wedding, global media attention surged and official occasions became tightly regulated: permissions, strict rules, and press agents made independent work far more difficult.  

Quinn recounts being tipped off by the Victorine studios in Nice (“French Hollywood”) when stars were filming—leading to set and production images involving figures like Hitchcock/Grace Kelly, Brigitte Bardot/Roger Vadim, Frank Sinatra, and others.  

He describes Cannes festival crowds of aggressive photographers who would shout directions, block access, and work as a pack—forcing him to outmaneuver them using anticipation and contacts.  

His first opportunity came in 1951 at a ceramics exhibition in Vallauris (where Picasso had lived/worked since 1947), amid a crowd that included Prince Ali Khan and Jacques Prévert; Picasso was with his children Paloma and Claude.  

Quinn was unobtrusive—quoting Picasso’s “He doesn’t bother me”. He accompanied him for over 20 years (from 1951 onward).  Quinn wasn’t a tabloid paparazzo: he aimed for cooperation and became a trusted presence.  

Highlights curates top images and breaks Picasso into themed groupings (e.g., At work, Family, Ceramics, Cars). Reminiscences is a self-referential mini-collection with items like notes about Quinn’s first published photo, personal documents, and moments from his circle.