History-makers & risk-takers: 15 of the most compelling photos shot in the last century | CNN

Identity #5 - Ruud van Empel, 2015 —

Is it a photo or a painting? Ruud van Empel synthesizes fragments of hundreds of images to create arresting images that blur the lines. (A single image can take three months to finish.)

Ruud van Empel/Courtesy Osborne Samuel and Beetles + Huxley

Untitled - Ren Hang, 2015 —

Beijing-based artist Ren Hang is one of the most provocative and acclaimed young photographers working today. Still, many of his works have been banned from galleries across his native China.

Ren Hang/Courtesy Osborne Samuel and Beetles + Huxley

Ore Runoff, Duluth, MN - Alex MacLean, 2014 —

You're not seeing things: This is how acid mine drainage looks from above, as captured by aerial photographer Alex MacLean.

A Family Spending the Weekend Under a Bridge - Zhang Kechun, 2011 —

Chinese photographer Zhang Kechun spent two years photographing scenes on the bank of the Yellow River. The photos are overexposed to impart an otherworldly quality.

Zhang Kechun/Courtesy Osborne Samuel and Beetles + Huxley

Champs Elysees - Henri Cartier Bresson, 1968 —

This photo by Henri Cartier Bresson was taken in May 1968, a period of civil unrest in France that saw massive worker strikes and student demonstrations.

Henri Cartier Bresson/Courtesy Osborne Samuel and Beetles + Huxley

Andy Warhol and the Gang - David Bailey, 1965 —

David Bailey was one of Swinging London's leading fashion photographers. What does he think of the field today? "Most fashion photography's pretty crap," he told CNN earlier this year.

David Bailey/Courtesy Osborne Samuel and Beetles + Huxley

Bob Dylan - Jerry Schatzberg, 1965 —

Jerry Schatzberg, one of the decade's other prolific photographers, shot the day's top celebrities, as well as the likes of Fidel Castro and Ted Kennedy.

Jerry Schatzberg/Courtesy Osborne Samuel and Beetles + Huxley

Melvin Sokolsky's "Bubble" series for <em>Harper's Bazaar</em> is one of his most renowned. Taken in a time before Photoshop, Sokolsky had models pose around Paris in a plastic bubble suspended from a crane.

Bicycle Street - Melvin Sokolsky, 1963 —

Melvin Sokolsky's "Bubble" series for Harper's Bazaar is one of his most renowned. Taken in a time before Photoshop, Sokolsky had models pose around Paris in a plastic bubble suspended from a crane.

Melvin Sokolsky/Courtesy Osborne Samuel and Beetles + Huxley

Bullet Through Jack of Hearts - Harold Edgerton, 1960 —

An electrical engineering professor at MIT, Harold Edgerton was one of the pioneers in strobe light technology (which allowed him to take pictures like this.)

Harold Edgerton/Courtesy Osborne Samuel and Beetles + Huxley

Suzy Parker, Evening Dress By Dior, Paris Studio - Richard Avedon, 1956 —

A print of this Richard Avedon photo sold for almost $36,000 at a 2010 Christie's auction.

Richard Avedon/Courtesy Osborne Samuel and Beetles + Huxley

A Trait Angel - Toshiko Okanoue, 1954 —

Toshiko Okanoue's was studying fashion illustration when she decided to turn her attentions on surrealist collages.

Toshiko Okanoue/Courtesy Osborne Samuel and Beetles + Huxley

In the early 19th century, Bill Brandt was primarily a society photographer from magazines like <em>Harper's Bazaar</em>. It wasn't until the 50's that he started to explore experimental photography.

Nude, East Sussex Coast - Bill Brandt, 1953 —

In the early 19th century, Bill Brandt was primarily a society photographer from magazines like Harper's Bazaar. It wasn't until the 50's that he started to explore experimental photography.

Bill Brandt/Bill Brandt Archive Ltd

Margaret Bourke-White was the first female photojournalist for <em>Life </em>magazine, and became America's first female war photojournalist during WWII.

Aerial View Of Rockefeller Center - Margaret Bourke White, 1939 —

Margaret Bourke-White was the first female photojournalist for Life magazine, and became America's first female war photojournalist during WWII.

Margaret Bourke White/Courtesy Osborne Samuel and Beetles + Huxley

Winston Churchill For 'Vanity Fair' - Edward Steichen, 1932 —

At the height of his career, Edward Steichen -- who photographed the likes of Winston Churchill, Katharine Hepburn, Marlene Dietrich, Greta Garbo, and Fred Astaire -- was being paid the equivalent of $1 million a year by Vanity Fair and Vogue, and another $1 million by commercial clients.

Edward Steichen/Courtesy Osborne Samuel and Beetles + Huxley

Cavern In An Iceberg - Herbert Ponting, 1910 —

This unique image was taken from a grotto inside of an iceberg just as it was turning over.

Herbert Ponting/Courtesy Osborne Samuel and Beetles + Huxley

All-star photographic talent united: 15 of the best shots from the 'The Photographers' exhibition

CNN —

Earlier this week, the most prolific photographers of the last 100 years were united at London’s Osborne Samuel and Beetles + Huxley galleries.

For the next month, the two commercial galleries are showcasing more than 150 prints by the likes of Henri Cartier-Bresson and Richard Avedon side-by-side for the joint “The Photographers” exhibition.

From early works from the inventor of the strobe light and Edward Steichen’s iconic portrait of Winston Churchill, to David Bailey’s Swinging Sixties celebrity snaps and risqué nudes by controversial Chinese photographer Ren Hang, the exhibition charts the medium’s development both as a technical craft and art form.

Scroll through the gallery above to see some of the most compelling photos of the last 100 years.

“The Photographers 2015” runs until Dec. 24, 2015.