cover image Henri Cartier-Bresson's Scrapbook

Henri Cartier-Bresson's Scrapbook

, . . Thames & Hudson, $85 (262pp) ISBN 978-0-500-54333-7

Coinciding with a recent exhibition jointly curated by the Fondation Henri Cartier-Bresson and the International Center of Photography, this splendid selection of more than 300 images presents the iconic French photographer's famous 1930s–1940s scrapbook. Published in its entirety for the first time, it contains many of the pictures that cemented Cartier-Bresson's reputation as one of the 20th century's defining image makers. During World War II, the Museum of Modern Art arranged what its curators thought would be a posthumous exhibition of his work, following his capture by the Germans in 1940. Four years later, the museum discovered that Cartier-Bresson had escaped and survived in hiding. He gladly collaborated with MoMA and brought 300 prints in a scrapbook to New York. Now handsomely reprinted, the collection spans from 1932 to 1946, and includes vivid portraits of Matisse, Picasso, Bonnard and Giacometti, as well as street photography, assigned photo essays and reportage of France's tumultuous war years. Image after striking image reveals Cartier-Bresson's consistency in capturing poignant moments in perfectly composed frames. The scrapbook is notable both for the history and the personalities it records, and for Cartier-Bresson's miraculous ability to be at the right place at the right time. (Apr.)