Peter Beard (1938–2020) occupied a singular place between photography, art and the documentation of nature. His book »The End of the Game« (1965) recorded the destruction of East Africa’s wildlife and became a classic. Landmark exhibitions at the International Center of Photography in New York and the Centre National de la Photographie in Paris established him as an artist far beyond the boundaries of photography.

At the heart of Beard’s work are his diaries. He layered his photographs with handwriting, drawings, newspaper clippings, leaves, ink and paint, at times even blood, turning each print into a unique work. His images of elephants, lions and cheetahs capture both the overwhelming beauty of the African wilderness and its destruction by human intervention, a theme that runs through his entire œuvre. He collaborated with many of the era’s greatest artists including Andy Warhol, Terry Southern, Truman Capote, and Francis Bacon and made his first steps towards fashion photography, bringing Iman, then completely unknown, to the United States and launching her career as a model.