Director, Glenn Lowry: Hello, I'm Glenn Lowry, Director of The Museum of Modern Art. I'm pleased to welcome you to Henri Cartier-Bresson: The Modern Century.
Cartier-Bresson is a groundbreaking figure in the history of modern photography. In the early 1930s he helped define the medium’s creative potential by making magical images from fleeting moments of everyday life. In 1947, after his first exhibition at MoMA, he joined Robert Capa and others in founding the Magnum photo agency, a cooperative that made it possible for photojournalists to publish in major magazines while retaining the rights to their work.
Cartier-Bresson soon earned wide acclaim for his photographs of Gandhi’s funeral, of newly independent India and Indonesia, and of China during its revolution. For decades he was a celebrated figure in photojournalism, and he is also considered one of the great portraitists of the twentieth century.
Curator, Peter Galassi: No matter where he was in the world, with peasants, with kings, he had an extraordinary ability to grasp the interrelationships of human beings. And that is at the heart of his achievement.
Glenn Lowry: Peter Galassi, Chief Curator of Photography, organized this exhibition. He’ll be your guide on this tour.
For detailed instructions on using this Acoustiguide, press 1-0-1 and the ‘play’ button at any time. Enjoy.