Cornell Capa, Photographs

Overshadowed by the renowned war photography of his brother, Robert Capa (who was killed in Vietnam), and by his own pioneering work as director of the International Center for Photography, where he helped foster respect for photography as an art form, Cornell Capa's professional camera work has gone largely unrecognized. This volume collects 150 of his best photographs, taken on assignment for Life and other magazines between 1946 and 1974, when he founded ICP. In his introduction, Whelan ( Drawing the Line: The Korean War 1950-53 ) depicts Capa as a ``concerned photographer'' whose work tried to influence the world for the better. To a remarkable degree and in unusual ways, with nothing manipulated but the camera, each of Capa's subjects appears immersed in his or her environment and its significance: penury in Salvador, civility at the Glydebourne opera and excitement during an American political campaign all resonate in striking images. Capa's accompanying memoirs are at times wry and lighthearted, often erudite and always compassionate. (Oct.)