The Artist

1960 Hong Kong

Renowned for her work for National Geographic covering the globe over the last three decades, Catherine presents an intimate view from the lens of the consummate insider.

Certainly, her father, Stanley Karnow, the renowned journalist and author of the seminal book and Emmy award-winning documentary on the country, Vietnam: A History, has informed some of her passion, but clearly she has found her very own personal relationship to this land with its troubled history and promising future.

Catherine Karnow’s attachment to Vietnam, her 25-year history of photographing the changing society and landscape is a visual diary of how she entered this land of enigma and discovered its twists and turns at every intersection of life, becoming immersed in the land and its people.

Her work has appeared in National Geographic, National Geographic Traveler, Smithsonian, French & German GEO, and other international publications. A notable life project has been her 30 years of photographing in Vietnam. In 1994, she was the only non-Vietnamese photojournalist to accompany General Giap on his historic return to Dien Bien Phu. In 2013, she was the only foreigner to photograph intimately the funeral of General Giap. Documenting the lives of Vietnamese families and children affected by Agent Orange has also been a deep passion for the artist.

Catherine’s 2015 retrospective: Vietnam 25 Years Documenting a Changing Country opened at the Art Vietnam Gallery in Hanoi. Her deeply personal book of the same name is available in bookstores in the US and Vietnam. She is regularly profiled in the Vietnamese press and a documentary on her Destiny in Vietnam aired on Talk Vietnam, a show seen by millions around the world.

Catherine has also worked in France for over three decades. For her first assignment as a professional photographer in 1984, she spent three months photographing the entire country of France. Her photo book on Provence was published in 1991. She recently published two new books: Un Automne en Pays de Fayence and Promenade en Provence.

Catherine is a renowned teacher of engaging photo workshops and regularly leads her photographers to Vietnam. One of the favorite destinations for the groups is the Spanish designer workshops of Chula Fashion, the unique creations by Diego Cortizas with their expressions of contemporary life in Vietnam interpreted in fashion.