About the Artist

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  • George Hoyningen-Huene. Henri Cartier-Bresson. 1935. Gelatin silver print, 9 11/16 × 7 11/16" (24.6 × 19.5 cm). The Museum of Modern Art, New York. Thomas Walther Collection. Abbott-Levy Collection funds, by exchange (MoMA 1707.2001). © The Hoyningen-Huene Estate

Meeting Points

Artist Chronology

August 22, 1908
Born
At location: Henri Cartier-Bresson
Chanteloup
1927–28
Studies painting with André Lhote
At location: Henri Cartier-Bresson
Paris
1928–29
Studies English, art, and literature at the University of Cambridge
At location: Henri Cartier-Bresson
Cambridge
1930
Mandatory service in the French army
At location: Henri Cartier-Bresson
Paris
1931–32
Lives in Ivory Coast, where he starts photographing
At location: Henri Cartier-Bresson
Côte d'Ivoire
Early 1930s
Shares a studio with Robert Capa and Chim (David Seymour)
At location: Henri Cartier-Bresson
Paris
September 25–October 16, 1933
First solo exhibition, Photographs by Henri Cartier-Bresson: Anti-Graphic Photography, at the Julien Levy Gallery
Participant: Henri Cartier-Bresson
New York
1934–35
Spends a year in Mexico with an ethnographic expedition
At location: Henri Cartier-Bresson
Mexico
1934
Manuel Álvarez Bravo and Henri Cartier-Bresson meet
Mexico City
March 11–20, 1935
Exposición fotografías: Cartier Bresson, Alvarez Bravo at the Palacio de Bellas Artes
Mexico City
April 23–May 7, 1935
Photographs by Henri Cartier-Bresson, Walker Evans, Manuel Alvarez Bravo at the Julien Levy Gallery
New York
June 1935
Exposition de l'AEAR–Documents de la vie sociale at Galerie de la Pléiade
Organizer: Jean Painlevé
Paris
1936
Begins making documentary films
At location: Henri Cartier-Bresson
Paris
1936–39
Lives in Paris
At location: Henri Cartier-Bresson
Paris
1937
Publishes photojournalist work in Regards
Contributor: Henri Cartier-Bresson
Paris
March 17–April 18, 1937
Photography: 1839–1937, organized by Beaumont Newhall, at The Museum of Modern Art
New York
September 1939–June 1940
Serves in the French army as a corporal in the Film and Photography departments
At location: Henri Cartier-Bresson
France
June 1940–February 1943
Taken prisoner by the Germans; escapes on his first attempt
At location: Henri Cartier-Bresson
France
December 31, 1940–January 12, 1941
Sixty Photographs: A Survey of Camera Aesthetics at The Museum of Modern Art
New York
1943–46
Lives in Paris
At location: Henri Cartier-Bresson
Paris
June 20, 1945–June 23, 1946
The Museum Collection of Photographs at The Museum of Modern Art
New York
1946–47
Lives in America for over a year while working on his retrospective exhibition at The Museum of Modern Art
At location: Henri Cartier-Bresson
New York
1947
Cofounds the cooperative agency Magnum Photos with Robert Capa, Chim (David Seymour), and George Rodger
Contributor: Henri Cartier-Bresson
Paris
February 5–April 6, 1947
The Photographs of Henri Cartier-Bresson at The Museum of Modern Art
The exhibition was intended as a posthumous salute when Cartier-Bresson was belived to have died in the war.
Participant: Henri Cartier-Bresson
New York
April 6–July 11, 1948
In and Out of Focus: A Survey of Today's Photography at The Museum of Modern Art
New York
July 27–September 26, 1948
50 Photographs by 50 Photographers at The Museum of Modern Art
New York
August 3, 2004
Dies
At location: Henri Cartier-Bresson
Alpes-de-Haute-Provence

Walther Photographs

View this artist's works in MoMA's Online Collection
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