Photographer Captures the Beginnings of the Peace Movement in the '60s

A new exhibit with previously unseen photographs by Jim Marshall is now available at the San Francisco Art Exchange (SFAE) called PEACE: Photographs by Jim Marshall.

Almost 60 years after the creation of the CND peace symbol, Marshall’s body of “peace” photographs is a “beautiful and thoughtful reflection from one of the most celebrated photographers of the twentieth century,” writes Reel Art Press.

The exhibit is in celebration of the release of Marshall’s new book Jim Marshall: Peace, released by Reel Art Press, according to a press release.

Introduced with a forward by street artist and graphic designer Shepard Fairey, the book’s text is written by Peter Doggett. Joan Baez, a folk singer, provides the book’s afterword, according to Reel Art Press.

Marshall was one of the most recognized photographs in the history of music. He also explored the changing times of the 1960s, photographing the creativity and celebrity. He started documenting the CND peace symbol and peace rallies as a personal project, Reel Art Press writes. The photographs had remained in his archives until now. The photographs were taken between 1961 and 1968 across America.

The CND peace symbol was designed in 1958 by Gerald Holtom for the British Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament, reports Reel Art Press. The symbol then spread from the UK to the US. Marshall’s photographs document the symbol’s different meanings over time, starting as a symbol for “Ban the Bomb”-specific protests, and ending up as an international sign for peace.