Self Portrait, Paris

Though born in Eastern Europe, André Kertész made his mark during the 1930s in Paris and subsequently New York. He moved from Budapest to Paris in 1925, after deciding to devote himself to photography. There he was a keen observer of both day and night street life, using a small, inconspicuous camera. He visited New York in the late 1930s, but was unable to return to Europe because of the outbreak of World War II. He stayed in New York for the rest of his life. He supported himself by taking commercial assignments from many magazines, meanwhile producing his own, quiet images of the city's parks, streets, and buildings.