Henri Cartier-Bresson: The Modern Century

Henri Cartier-Bresson (1908-2004) is probably the most influential, admired and respected figure in the history of photography. His early work helped define the creative potential of modern photography, and his unerring ability to capture life on the run made his work synonymous with 'the decisive moment' - the title of his first major book. Following World War II, he joined Robert Capa and others in founding the Magnum photo agency, which enabled photojournalists to reach a broad audience through magazines such as Life while still retaining control over their work. In the decade following the war, Cartier-Bresson produced major reportages on India and Indonesia at the time of independence, China during the revolution there, the Soviet Union after Stalin's death, the United States during the postwar boom, and Europe as its old cultures confronted modern realities. For more than twenty-five years, he was one of the keenest and most active observers of the global theatre of human affairs - and one of the great portraitists of the twentieth century.