As a young man André Kertész found
a photographic manual in an attic and decided to become a photographer.
After the death of his father, however, he first attended the Academy
of Commerce and, like his foster father, worked in the Budapest
stock market. In 1913 he acquired his first camera, an Ica. In
1914 he served in the Austro-Hungarian army. One year later he
began to work seriously as a photographer.
He was wounded and for
a year was paralyzed. All of his negatives
were destroyed in 1918 and he returned to the stock market. In 1922 he received
an honorary diploma from the Hungarian Association of Photography. Between 1922
and 1925 he lived in Paris, where he sold prints for 25 francs in order to make
a living. During this time he began his collaboration with the Frankfurter Illustrierte,
the Berliner Illustrinte, the Nationale de Fiorenza, Sourire, Uhu and Times.
In
Paris he began his series Distortions. In 1927 he had his first solo exhibition
and in 1928 met Brassaï, whom he introduced to photography. Kertész
acquired
his first Leica and did documentaries for Vu. In 1933 he married Elisabeth Sali
and published his first book on children. Three years later he emigrated to New
York and signed a contract with Keystone. In 1937 his began his association with
Vogue,
Harper's Bazaar, Collier's, Coronet, and many other magazines. In 1944 he became
an American citizen. He attempted to bring over his negatives from Paris, but
more than half
were lost in transit. From 1949 to 1962 he worked continuously for Conde Nast.
After a serious disease, Kertész decided to cancel all his
contracts and work exclusively as a freelance photographer. In
addition to many honors, he received an honorary doctorate
from the Royal College of Art and he was also made a member
of the French Legion of Honor. Many of Kertész's photographs,
for example The Fork, Esztergom, Swimmer, the Park Bench,
or Mondrian's Atelier, are now among the most famous
photographs of this century.
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