Kertész, André

(born July 2, 1894, Budapest, Austro-Hungarian Empire—died Sept. 27, 1985, New York, N.Y., U.S.) Hungarian-born U.S. photographer and photojournalist. He moved from Budapest to Paris in 1925 in search of opportunity and became a major contributor to European illustrated periodicals. He became friendly with many influential artists, including Marc Chagall and Piet Mondrian; his access to such figures allowed him to create a definitive portrait of the Parisian cultural milieu of the period. In 1928 he bought a Leica, a small handheld camera. The lightweight camera gave him the freedom to move about the streets of Paris and capture spontaneous moments of urban life, a subject that would fascinate him throughout his career. He arrived in New York City in 1936 intending to work for a commercial studio for a year, but stayed on, doing largely fashion photography for major U.S. magazines. He returned to his pursuit of urban life c. 1962, and in 1964 the Museum of Modern Art gave an exhibition of his works. His spontaneous, unposed pictures exerted a strong influence on magazine photography.

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