On view through May 29
In 1925, photographer André Kertész (American, born Hungary, 1894–1985) arrived in Paris with little more than a camera and meager savings. Over the next three years, he carved out a photographic practice that allowed him to move among the realms of amateur and professional, photojournalist and avant-garde artist, diarist and documentarian. By the end of 1928, he had achieved widespread recognition, emerging as a major figure in modern art. During this period, he chose to print most of his photographs on carte postale, or postcard paper; although this choice may have initially been born of economy, he turned the popular format toward artistic ends, rigorously composing images in the darkroom and making a new kind of photographic object.
Organized by the Art Institute of Chicago, Postcards from Paris is the first nationally touring exhibition to bring together Kertész’s rare carte postale prints. These now-iconic works offer new insight into the artist’s early experimental years and reveal the importance of Paris as a vibrant meeting ground where international avant-garde artists drew inspiration from each other to create new, modern ways of seeing and representing the world.
Exhibition catalogue available for purchase at the Museum Shop and at museumshop.high.org. Members receive 10% off Shop purchases.
