Sygma (agency)

Sygma (formally known as Agence Presse Sygma or Sygma Photo News) was a French photo agency.^[1] Sygma was established in 1973, was acquired by Corbis in 1999, and went bankrupt in 2011.^[2][3] It was one of the largest and leading photo agencies,^[2][3][4] with offices in Paris, London and New York City, and about 500 photographers under contract.^[5]

Sygma's archive of 50 million objects is stored at the Sygma Preservation and Access Facility in Garnay near Paris.

History

Sygma was founded in 1973 by Hubert Henrotte (Wikidata) (co-founder of the Gamma agency) and other photographers from Gamma^[4][6][7] including Eliane Laffont^[8] and Jean-Pierre Laffont.

It was one of the largest and leading photo agencies,^[2][3][4][9] with offices in Paris, London and New York City, and about 500 photographers under contract.^[5]

It was acquired by Bill Gates' Corbis in 1999^[6][10] and the new organisation was called Corbis Sygma.^[1]

Sygma declared bankruptcy and shut down operations in 2011 when it could not afford to pay damages resulting from a court case.^[2]

Members of Sygma (1973–1999)

• Dominique Aubert^[11][12]
• Richard Ellis
• Stuart Franklin^[13]
• Yannis Kontos^[14]
• Peter Marlow^[15]
• Caterine Milinaire^[16]
• Gérard Rancinan (joined 1973)^[17]
• Sebastião Salgado (1974–1975)^[18]
• Claude Salhani (1970s)

• Christine Spengler
• Les Stone^[19]
• Alfred Yaghobzadeh^[20]

Sygma Preservation and Access Facility

Sygma's archive includes 50 million objects from the second half of the 20th century.^[21] It is stored at the Sygma Preservation and Access Facility, a dedicated facility in Garnay, near Paris, established in 2009.^{[4][22][23][24][25]}