Eastern assignments; and his insistence on small
format cameras, no auxiliary equipment such as
flash, tripods, or telephoto lens and the integrity of
the frame as photographed—no darkroom manip-
ulation—became the gold standard for postwar
photojournalism as well as being highly influential
on fine arts photography.
Thus the late 1940s saw Cartier-Bresson’s rise as
an international photojournalist. For Magnum he
traveled to the China, India—where he photo-
graphed Gandhi literally minutes before he was
assassinated—and Indonesia, photographing poli-
tical events and the people in their streets and
homes. Extraordinary ‘‘decisive moments’’ were
captured, such asGold Sale, Shanghai, Chinaof
1949, which shows a human ‘‘rope’’: Chinese pea-
sants with their arms braided and intertwined, bind-
ing themselves, as it were, at the stoop of a building.
Taken during the communist takeover of China in
1948–49 this remarkable composition captures a
run on a bank selling gold; the crowd is not con-
trolled by any authority, but by its own essence of
panic and agitation in the face of huge events.
By 1952, Cartier-Bresson, back in Europe, was
finally receiving wide recognition in his home coun-
try. His first book,Images ala sauvette(with its English title of ‘‘The Decisive Moment,’’) with cover art by Matisse, was published. He began a long collaboration with eminent fine arts publisher Robert Delpire, including a book on Balinese thea- tre,Les Danses aBali, featuring text by Antonin
Artaud. His bookLes Europe ́ens, with cover art by
painter Joan Miro ́, was published as well; and in
1955, he received his first exhibition in France at
the Louvre.
The 1960s were again a period of intense inter-
national travel. He returned to Mexico, where he
had made one of his first photographic forays as
part of an ethnographic team in the early 1930s.
On assignment forLifemagazine, he traveled to
Cuba during a time of high tension between that
country and the United States. He visited Japan
and once again traveled to India. In 1966, Cartier-
Bresson terminated his relationship with Magnum
Photos, claiming he had stayed with the agency
‘‘two years too long’’ and admitting to detractors
that perhaps he had said all he had to say through
photography. Although he took on occasional
commissions, such as one from the IBM Corpora-
tion,Man and Machine, he turned once again to
his early passion for painting and drawing. After
divorcing his wife of 30 years, the Javanese dancer
Ratna Mohini, he married the Magnum photogra-
pher Martine Franck in 1970. After 1974, he
photographed very little, and then often secretly,
which he had perfected during his long career as a
photojournalist working with a small camera that
he would often further minimize by covering with
black tape any metal parts which might reflect light
and catch the eye.
Coinciding with a 2003 retrospective of his work
at the Bibliothe`que nationale de France, and shortly
before his 95th birthday, Cartier-Bresson, along with
his wife Martine Frank and their daughter, inaugu-
rated the Henri Cartier-Bresson Foundation, which
they had conceived several years earlier to ‘‘preserve
andsharethelegacyofhiswork.’’Housedinan
historic atelier in Paris, the Foundation archives
Cartier-Bresson’s vintage prints and contact sheets,
as well as publications, rare books, albums, posters,
exhibition invitations, and films and videos that
document the photographer’s career. The HCB
Foundation also bestows an award named after
Cartier-Bresson, organizes and circulates exhibitions
featuring his work, and maintains a comprehensive
website available at http://www.henricartierbresson.org.
Magnum Photos also distributes Cartier-Bresson
photographs. Henri Cartier-Bresson died in the
south of France on 5 August 2004.
LYNNEWarren
Seealso: Capa, Robert; Franck, Martine; History
of Photography: Interwar Years; Magnum Photos;
Photography in France; Seymour, David ‘‘Chim’’Biography
Born Chanteloup, Seine-et-Marne, 22 August 1908. Edu-
cated Lyce ́e Condorcet, Paris and studies painting with
Andre ́Lhote, 1927–28; no formal photographic training.
Studied English literature and art at Cambridge Univer-
sity, London, 1928–29; inducted into French Army, 1930.
Traveled in Africa, 1931, European continent, 1932. First
exhibition in Madrid, 1932; New York, 1933. Prisoner-
of-war, 1940–43; member MN PGD organization of the
French underground, 1943–44. Co-founded Magnum
Photos, 1947; worked in Far East, 1948–1952, Cuba,
1963; Japan, 1965; left Magnum in 1966. Traveled in
USSR, 1972–73. Married Martine Franck, 1970. Largely
ceased photographing after 1974. Numerous awards,
including Overseas Press Club of America, 1948, 1954,
1960, 1964; Prix de la Socie ́te ́Franc ̧ ais de Photographie,
1959; the Culture Prize, Deutsche Gesellschaft fu ̈r Photo-
graphie, 1975; Hasselblad Award, 1982. Died in Ce ́reste,
Alpes-de-Haute-Provence, France, 3 August 2004.Selected Work
(Note that HCB did not formally title works, and works
may appear under various titles.)
Behind Saint-Lazare Station, Paris, France, 1932 (also
known asPlace de l’Europe)
Spanish Morocco, 1933CARTIER-BRESSON, HENRI