born July 2, 1894, Budapest, Austro-Hungarian Empire
died Sept. 27, 1985, New York, N.Y., U.S.
Hungarian-born U.S. photographer and photojournalist.
He moved from Budapest to Paris in 1925 in search of opportunity and became a major contributor to European illustrated periodicals. He became friendly with many influential artists, including Marc Chagall and Piet Mondrian ; his access to such figures allowed him to create a definitive portrait of the Parisian cultural milieu of the period. In 1928 he bought a Leica, a small handheld camera. The lightweight camera gave him the freedom to move about the streets of Paris and capture spontaneous moments of urban life, a subject that would fascinate him throughout his career. He arrived in New York City in 1936 intending to work for a commercial studio for a year, but stayed on, doing largely fashion photography for major U.S. magazines. He returned to his pursuit of urban life 0441; 1962, and in 1964 the Museum of Modern Art gave an exhibition of his works. His spontaneous, unposed pictures exerted a strong influence on magazine photography.