Henri Cartier-Bresson

(French, 1908–2004)

Henri Cartier-Bresson was a French photographer and filmmaker known as a pioneer of street photography. His dramatic black-and-white works are among the most iconic images of the 20th century. The artist is perhaps best known for his 1952 book The Decisive Moment, originally titled Images à la Sauvette (Images on the Run), the book explored his notion of photography as a candid medium. “To take a photograph means to recognize, simultaneously and within a fraction of a second‚ both the fact itself and the rigorous organization of visually perceived forms that give it meaning,” Cartier-Bresson once explained. Born on August 22, 1908 in Chanteloup, France, he studied painting with André Lhote before becoming a photojournalist in the 1930s. He counted Man Ray, André Kertész, and Eugène Atget as major influences to his practice. Over the decades that followed, he travelled all over the world capturing scenes in Africa, Europe, and Mexico. Joining the French resistance during the Nazi occupation, the photographer was captured and spent three years in a prison camp. In 1947, the artist helped found the cooperative agency Magnum Photos with Robert Capa, David Seymour, George Rodger, and William Vandiver. Cartier-Bresson went on to receive the Grand Prix National de la Photographie in 1981 and the Hasselblad Award the following year. He died on August 3, 2004 in Montjustin, France at the age of 95. Today, the artist’s works are held in the collections of The Museum of Modern Art in New York, the Tel Aviv Museum of Art, the National Gallery of Canada in Ottawa, and the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, among others.

Most Expensive Artwork Sold at Auction

Derrière la gare Saint-Lazare, Paris, 1932
Sold price: 596,583 USD

Henri Cartier-Bresson (5,260 results)

Eunuch of the Imperial Court of the Last..., 1949

Henri Cartier-Bresson

Eunuch of the Imperial Court of the Last..., 1949

Jackson Fine Art

Price on Request

Hyeres, 1932

Henri Cartier-Bresson

Jackson Fine Art

Price on Request

Coronation of King George VI, 1937

Henri Cartier-Bresson

Coronation of King George VI, 1937

Jackson Fine Art

Price on Request

Puebla, Mexico, 1963

Henri Cartier-Bresson

Puebla, Mexico, 1963

Jackson Fine Art

Price on Request

Boulevard Diderot, Paris, France, 1961

Henri Cartier-Bresson

Boulevard Diderot, Paris, France, 1961

Jackson Fine Art

Price on Request

View from Notre Dame, Paris, 1852

Henri Cartier-Bresson

View from Notre Dame, Paris, 1852

Peter Fetterman Gallery

Price on Request

Provisoire, ca. 1940

Henri Cartier-Bresson

Provisoire, ca. 1940

Bruce Silverstein

Price on Request

Seville, Spain, 1933

Henri Cartier-Bresson

Seville, Spain, 1933

Fahey/Klein Gallery

Price on Request

Gandhi, 1948

Henri Cartier-Bresson

Fahey/Klein Gallery

Price on Request

Rue Mouffetard, Paris, 1954

Henri Cartier-Bresson

Rue Mouffetard, Paris, 1954

Bruce Silverstein

Price on Request

Behind the Gare St. Lazare, 1932

Henri Cartier-Bresson

Behind the Gare St. Lazare, 1932

Bruce Silverstein

Price on Request

Untitled, 1954

Henri Cartier-Bresson

Untitled, 1954

Bruce Silverstein

Price on Request

Frankrijk, Lourdes, 1950

Henri Cartier-Bresson

Frankrijk, Lourdes, 1950

Bruce Silverstein

Price on Request

Banks on the Marne, 1938

Henri Cartier-Bresson

Banks on the Marne, 1938

Throckmorton Fine Art, Inc.

15,000 USD

Behind the Gare Saint-Lazare, Paris, 1932

Henri Cartier-Bresson

Behind the Gare Saint-Lazare, Paris, 1932

Throckmorton Fine Art, Inc.

25,000 USD

Codoba, Spain, 1933

Henri Cartier-Bresson

Codoba, Spain, 1933

Throckmorton Fine Art, Inc.

12,000 USD

Portrait of Aragon, 1994

Henri Cartier-Bresson

Portrait of Aragon, 1994

1,100 EUR

Roosevelt Island, New York, USA, 1962

Henri Cartier-Bresson

Roosevelt Island, New York, USA, 1962

OstLicht. Gallery for Photography

2,200 EUR

Joinville-le-Pont, Département Val-de-Marne, , 1938

Henri Cartier-Bresson

Joinville-le-Pont, Département Val-de-Marne, , 1938

OstLicht. Gallery for Photography

1,900 EUR

Wedding, Rue de Turenne, Le Marais, Paris, 1951

Henri Cartier-Bresson

Wedding, Rue de Turenne, Le Marais, Paris, 1951

OstLicht. Gallery for Photography

1,900 EUR

Between two Poses, 1989–1997

Henri Cartier-Bresson

Between two Poses, 1989–1997

Hyperion Press Limited

6,500 USD

L'araignee d'amour, Mexico, 1934–1997

Henri Cartier-Bresson

L'araignee d'amour, Mexico, 1934–1997

Hyperion Press Limited

6,500 USD

The beach, 1994

Henri Cartier-Bresson

The beach, 1994

1,200 EUR

Allée du Prado, Marseille, 1932

Henri Cartier-Bresson

Allée du Prado, Marseille, 1932

Jackson Fine Art

Price on Request

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