Overview

• Sebastião Salgado passed away on May 23, 2025, at age 81, as confirmed by Instituto Terra and his family, with his death attributed to leukemia caused by malaria complications contracted in 2010.
• Known for his evocative black-and-white photography, Salgado documented global suffering and environmental beauty across a career spanning five decades and over 130 countries.
• His landmark works include the series 'Workers,' 'Exodus,' and 'Amazonia,' as well as the Academy Award-nominated documentary 'The Salt of the Earth,' co-directed by Wim Wenders and his son Juliano Ribeiro Salgado.
• Salgado and his wife, Lélia Wanick Salgado, co-founded Instituto Terra in 1998, restoring over three million trees in Brazil's Atlantic Forest and promoting environmental conservation.
• Tributes poured in from global leaders and institutions, including Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, who honored Salgado with a moment of silence in Brasília, recognizing his impact on humanity and the planet.