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.
Sygma was founded in 1973 by Hubert Henrotte (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]
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]
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