International Center of Photography is delighted to welcome back Cynthia Young as Director of the Robert Capa and Cornell Capa Archive. Cynthia is a longtime collaborator with ICP, with more than 20 years of scholarship and curatorial expertise in the Capa collection. She has curated numerous exhibitions at ICP that have travelled throughout Europe and South America and has lectured widely. She will be working with our Exhibitions and Collections teams.
“The Capa Archive at ICP is one of the most significant photographic collections of the twentieth century, and it continues to help us understand history and the role of photography," said Cynthia Young. "I am pleased to return to ICP to continue the research of this collection and to collaborate with colleagues in presenting it to audiences worldwide.”
Bob Jeffrey, ICP CEO said: “Cynthia is widely recognized as the foremost authority on Robert Capa, and her scholarship and curatorial leadership are unmatched. Her return marks an important step for ICP as we recommit to our core mission of Concerned Photography and prepare for a landmark Robert Capa retrospective in 2028.
Cynthia’s expertise and vision will not only help us realize this ambitious exhibition but also strengthen the foundation of our program, ensuring that ICP continues to honor its history while speaking with urgency to the present.”
As the steward of the world’s most comprehensive Robert Capa collection, the International Center of Photography underscores the importance of safeguarding photography as both history and cultural touchstone. Through its commitment to exhibitions, archives, and education, ICP affirms the vital role of photographic collections across institutions worldwide, ensuring that the legacy of figures like Robert and Cornell Capa continues to inform global conversations about art, memory, and social responsibility.
Cynthia Young has curated numerous exhibitions on photojournalism in the 1930–50s, including Capa in Color; We Went Back: Photographs from Europe 1933-1956 by Chim and The Mexican Suitcase: The Rediscovered Spanish Civil War Negatives of Robert Capa, Chim and Gerda Taro. These exhibitions traveled widely to multiple venues in France, Spain, Italy, Mexico, Brazil, Hungary and Sweden. She was until 2020 the curator of the Robert Capa and Cornell Capa Archive at ICP, where she worked since 2000.