Alessandra Sanguinetti

Alessandra Sanguinetti is an American-Argentine photographer known for her poetic and introspective imagery that explores themes of memory, place, and the psychological transitions of youth. Born in New York in 1968 and raised in Argentina from 1970 until 2003, Sanguinetti developed an early fascination with photography at the age of nine, inspired by her mother’s books featuring the work of photographers such as Michael Lesy and Dorothea Lange. She studied Anthropology at the University of Buenos Aires and later pursued General Studies at the International Center of Photography in New York.

In 1996, Sanguinetti began On the Sixth Day, a series examining the intricate relationship between humans and domesticated animals in the rural landscapes of Argentina. Three years later, her focus shifted toward two young cousins, Belinda and Guille, who lived on the same farm featured in that earlier work. What began as a side project evolved into a lifelong collaboration—an intimate chronicle of the two girls’ lives as they grew from childhood into adulthood. The first five years of this work culminated in her acclaimed monograph The Adventures of Belinda and Guille and the Enigmatic Meaning of Their Dreams (2010).

Sanguinetti’s photographs are included in the collections of major institutions such as the Museum of Modern Art (New York), the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, the Museum of Fine Arts (Houston), and the Museum of Fine Arts (Boston). She has photographed for The New York Times Magazine, LIFE, Newsweek, and New York Magazine.

A recipient of a Guggenheim Foundation Fellowship and a Hasselblad Foundation Grant, Sanguinetti joined Magnum Photos in 2007. She continues to expand her deeply human, narrative-driven work and is currently based in California.