Cartier-Bresson at the ICP
Truth or Dare
Everyone has a story, but not all stories hold our attention, even in the case of artists and photographers. Many follow predictable paths toward addiction and untimely death, or toward off-the-chain success. However, Henri Cartier-Bresson, the foundational French sugar daddy of street photography, is a rare exception.
In celebration of the International Center of Photography’s new show, Henri Cartier-Bresson: The Decisive Moment, on view now through September 2, PROVOKR dug up a steamy story about Cartier-Bresson’s formative years.
Cartier-Bresson’s father was a wealthy textile manufacturer who supported his son financially, giving Henri the freedom to shape his creative style in the 1920s. Henri approached photography as the capture of a decisive moment, and dabbled in other art forms with less structure. Life was grand.
In the late 1920s, Cartier-Bresson stopped his studies of art and literature at Cambridge and joined the French army, and ended up under house arrest for hunting without a license. An American expatriate and friend of Cartier-Bresson, Harry Crosby, convinced the commandant to cut him some slack, and the two struck up a friendship over their common interest in photography. Crosby, shortly thereafter, gave Cartier-Bresson his first camera – and so much more.
As it turned out, Crosby and his wife, Caresse (a predictive name) had an open marriage, and Crosby seemed interested in sharing all of his toys. Cartier-Bresson and Caresse carried on a wildly intense and sexual relationship into the 1930s.
Until Crosby committed suicide, that is, in 1931.
Caresse left Cartier-Bresson, who drowned his heartbreak in recklessness. He went hunting on the Côte d’Ivoire and nearly died of blackwater fever, then eventually returned to Paris, where he channeled his need to hunt through his camera instead of a rifle. Among his most prized captures were author Truman Capote and artist Henri Matisse.
The images below are the spoils of a hungry, heartbroken man who captured the scenery of the streets like prey or a forbidden lover. We hope you’ll find them as ravaging as the man who took them.
