Danny Lyon (born in New York, 1942) is highly regarded as one of the most influential documentary photographers of the last five decades. Lyon’s work subverts the commercialized image of Americana : bikers, prisoners, civil rights activists, etc., his goal is to represent individuals on the outskirts of society.

Involved with the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Commitee, his first photo book, The Movement (1964), is a documentary essay on the civil rights movement in the United States. His many books include Conversations with the Dead (1971), his series developed over six prisons in texas betwen 1967 and 1968 and conveying the feeling of confinment. Like a Thief’s Dream (2007) is the true story of James Ray Renton, bank robber and forger, that Lyon met in prison and got along with.

Danny Lyon has also directed documentaries such as Born to film or Murderers. Founder of the photography group Bleak Beauty, he has exhibited in various museums including the Whitney Museum of American Art and the Art Institute of Chicago.