Henri Cartier-Bresson (French, 1908-2004) Barcelona, 1933 Gelatin silver contact print, printed 1946. Inscribed E16 in an unknown hand in pencil on the verso. Accompanied by a Certificate of Authenticity, signed by Martine Franck Cartier-Bresson in ink and numbered 280507/3. image/ sheet: 3-1/4 x 4-3/4 inches (8.1 x 12.2 cm) PROVENANCE: Sotheby's London, Photographs, May 29th, 2007, Lot 66. EXHIBITED: Photographs by Henri Cartier-Bresson, The Museum of Modern Art, New York, February 5th-April 6th, 1947. LITERATURE: P. Galassi, Henri Cartier-Bresson: The Early Work, The Museum of Modern Art, New York, 1987, p. 96; Henri Cartier-Bresson; The Man, the Image and the World, Thames and Hudson, London, 2003, ill. p. 105, pl. 117; A. Sire, Henri Cartier-Bresson: Scrapbook: Photographs 1932-1946, Thames and Hudson, London, 2006, cat. no. 93, p. 135. Henri Cartier-Bresson was captured and imprisoned by the Nazis in 1940 and, after two unsuccessful attempts to escape, he finally made it to freedom. Assuming that Cartier-Bresson had not survived this harsh imprisonment, The Museum of Modern Art in New York started preparing what they envisioned would be a posthumous retrospective exhibition. However, when Cartier-Bresson learned of the proposed MoMA show, he decided to curate it himself. in 1946, armed with 300 contact prints in a suitcase, including this exceptional little work, Cartier-Bresson traveled to New York and when he arrived bought a scrapbook into which he glued his prints. The resulting exhibition, a celebration of his survival, opened at MoMA on February 4, 1947. HID12401132022 © 2024 Heritage Auctions | All Rights Reserved