Robert Capa
The only definitive collection of the work of the world's most influential war photographer.
Text by Richard Whelan
- The only definitive collection of photographs spanning the entire career of Robert Capa (1913-54)
- Perhaps the most influential war photographer the world has ever known, both Capa's life and work have had a marked influence on generations of photographers
- Includes all of Capa's iconic stories before his tragic death from a landmine, including his coverage of the Spanish Civil War, the landing of American troops on Omaha Beach and the Liberation of Paris as well as world-famous images of Picasso, Hemingway and other artists, writers and actors
- Sequenced in chronological order with extended captions, the book covers many of the major events and people that shaped the 20th century
Paperback
250 x 250 mm, 9 7/8 x 9 7/8 in
572 pp
937 duotone photographs
ISBN 9780714844497
0714844497
This is the first book to reproduce the definitive set of 937 rarely seen and classic images by Robert Capa (1913-54), one of the most influential documentary photographers of the twentieth century. Capa, a founding member of Magnum photographic agency, had the mind of a passionate and committed journalist and the eye of an artist. His lifework, consisting of more than 70,000 negatives, constitutes an unparalleled documentation of a crucial 22-year period (1932-54), encompassing some of the most catastrophic and dramatic events of the last century.
This book represents the most definitive selection of Capa's work ever published - 937 photographs meticulously selected by his brother Cornell Capa (himself a noted Life photographer), and his biographer, Richard Whelan. The photographs, arranged in chronological order as stories and accompanied by brief commentaries, reveal the dramatic shifts in location and subject matter that Capa experienced from day to day - from war-torn Israel to Pablo Picasso on a sunny beach in France, and from Ernest Hemingway carousing in London to Capa's historic images of the Allied landing on Omaha Beach in Normandy in 1944.
Robert Capa, born in Hungary, was known for his extreme bravery, amazing eye, and irrestitible charm. He was a co-founder of the Magnum cooperative picture agency and died in 1954 after stepping on a landmine while on an assignment in Indochina. His life and work were inextricably linked, and both have had a marked influence on generations of photographers.
Richard Whelan is an outstanding authority on Capa's life and work. He is a New York-based independent cultural historian and the author of several books, including acclaimed biographies of Robert Capa and Alfred Stieglitz.
'A breathtaking history and compelling life story that will make you feel you have lived five or six lives yourself.' (Black & White Magazine for Collectors of Fine Photography)
'A unique perspective on the twentieth century.' (Marie-Claire)
'A special treat ... it contains almost 1,000 of his finest images ... Comprehensive and vivid.' (Military Illustrated)
'[Capa] never lost his zest for life or his empathy with suffering, when it would have been extremely easy for him to have done so ... This deeply humane quality is, in fact, detectable in all of his pictures, which is why they are so moving.' (Times Literary Supplement)
'A terrific overview of one photographer's varied and heroic life ... Capa's career was that of a swashbuckling internationalist. From a Jewish-Hungarian background he made homes first in Paris and then in America. Capa went boozing with Hemingway and had an affair with Ingrid Bergman. He was an idealist and gambler, a friend of the poor and also of movies stars, a bon viveur who knew about starvation. Taken with a Leica, his photos are neat and compassionate but he also gave magazine photography some of the larger-than-life quality of the cinema.' (Tim Hilton, Independent on Sunday)