SEYMOUR, DAVID

born Nov. 20, 1911, Warsaw, Pol., Russian Empire [now in Poland] died Nov. 10, 1956, near Suez Canal, Egypt pseudonym Chim Polish-born American photojournalist, particularly noted for his warmly human pictures of people, especially children. Seymour studied graphic arts in Warsaw and in 1931 went to Paris to study at the Sorbonne, where he became interested in photography. In the late 1930s he covered many important political events. His pictures of the Spanish Civil War, particularly the impact of the war on the civilian population of Barcelona, received widespread attention. He came to the United States in 1939 and for three years served in the U.S. Army as a photo interpreter. He was the founder in 1947 of the Magnum photographic cooperative. The next year, on assignment for the United Nations Educational and Scientific Organization (UNESCO), he photographed children who had been physically and spiritually damaged by the war. From then until his death he traveled extensively in Europe and Israel on assignments for various publications. He was killed while covering the Arab-Israeli war. Books of his photographs include Children of Europe (UNESCO, 1949); The Vatican (1950), text by Ann Carnahan; and David Seymour (Chim) (1966), edited by Anna Frov. A selection of his pictures is included in The Concerned Photographer (1968), edited by Cornell Capa.