Photographed by Knut koivisto

Warmest congratulations to Arno Rafael Minkkinen who is named the recipient of the Académie des Beaux-Arts Photography Award, William Klein 2025.

Established in 2019, this prestigious lifetime achievement award honours a photographer whose work has made a lasting and influential contribution to the art of photography. Presented by the Académie des Beaux-Arts in Paris with the support of the Chengdu Contemporary Image Museum, the award includes a grant of €120,000 and recognises Minkkinen’s extraordinary artistic legacy.

Born in Helsinki in 1945, Minkkinen moved with his family to New York in 1951. His artistic career began in the early 1970s, after studying photography at the Rhode Island School of Design under Harry Callahan. For more than five decades, his work has explored the relationship between the human body and nature, often photographing himself in striking black and white compositions created entirely without digital manipulation.

His photographs are represented in major museum collections, including the Museum of Modern Art (New York), the National Gallery of Finland, the Centre Pompidou (Paris) and the Tokyo Metropolitan Museum of Photography.

The award ceremony will take place on November 15th in Paris, during Paris Photo.

Warmest congratulations, Arno.