Henri Cartier-Bresson in China: 1948-1949/1958
by: Michel Frizot/Ying-lung Su

Hardcover. London/NY, Thames & Hudson, 1st, 2019, Book: Very Good, Dust Jacket: Very Good, Hardcover in a bright dust jacket The first visual chronicle of a little-known chapter in the career of Henri Cartier-Bresson--one of the great photographers of the twentieth century.In December 1948, Henri Cartier-Bresson traveled to China at the request of Life magazine. He wound up staying for ten months and captured some of the most spectacular moments in China's history: he photographed Beijing in "the last days of the Kuomintang," and then headed back to Shanghai, where he bore witness to the new regime's takeover. Moreover, in 1958, Henri Cartier-Bresson was one of the first Western photographers to go back to China to explore the changes that had occurred over the preceding decade. The "picture stories" he sent to Magnum and Life on a regular basis played a key role in Westerners' understanding of Chinese political events. Many of these images are among the best-known and most significant photographs in Cartier-Bresson's oeuvre; his empathy with the populace and sense of responsibility as a witness making them an important part of his legacy. This volume allows these photographs to be reexamined along with all of the documents that were preserved: the photographer's captions and comments, contact sheets, and abundant correspondence, as well as the published versions that appeared in both American and European magazines. Clean copy. DOMESTIC SHIPPING ONLY.