New York City proved to be an promising place for André Kertész. He approached the art director of the Museum of Modern Art, Beaumont Newhall, regarding an upcoming show titled Photography. Kertész wanted Newhall to display some of his photographs within the exhibition from his Distorted series. Below is one of the photographs Newhall had placed in the exhibition:
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| Kertész, André, from Distortion, 1933. |
In 1937, Kertész had his first solo show at the PM Gallery. The same year, he was commissioned by Harper's Bazaar, which used his images regularly. Kertész was also asked to take photographs for Town and Country as well as Life magazine, where he published a series titled The Tugboat. In 1938, Look published one of Kertész's images titled A Fireman Goes to School - although it was accidentally credited to his old boss. Although also published in Coronet in 1937, his name was excluded from the "most memorable photographers" in 1939. Kertész did not work with either of these publications again afterwards. A similar issue happened in 1941 with Vogue; after
he had contributed over 30 commissioned photo essays to this
publication, he did not make it into their June 1941 issue and thus, cut
ties.
World War II proved to be especially difficult for Kertész as he and his wife were both dubbed "enemy aliens" as Hungry, his home country, was fighting with the Axis powers. Kertész was not allowed to shoot photographs outdoors and remained underground until hos wife acquired citizenship in 1944 and he was naturalized shortly after. By this time, photographer Irving Penn was "on the scene" although despite Penn being the competition, Kertész was able to gain commission work. In 1945, House and Garden asked Kertész to sign a one year contract and to work exclusively for them. He was paid $10,000 per year, which for today's standards would roughly be $120,000! He continued to work for House and Garden through 1962. Throughout this time, the magazine published 3,000 of his negatives. This job allowed him to travel again, which proved impossible during World War II. Kertész
went to England, Budapest, and Paris; he photographed well established
houses and made a strong name for himself in the commercial world.
Despite his success, Kertész found his personal work suffered. He wanted to work with more artistic freedom. In 1964, John Szarkrowski became the photography director at the Museum of Modern Art and featured Kertész's work often. Numerous awards followed including a Guggenheim Fellowship in 1974 along with Commander of the French Ordre des Arts et des Lettres. In 1979, Polaroid gave Kertész a SX-70 camera with instant film. The results proved to be spectacular:
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| Kertész, André, (left) The Tugboat Eugene F. Moran, New York Harbor & (right) Cover of House and Garden, (L) 1938, (R) 1957. |
Despite his success, Kertész found his personal work suffered. He wanted to work with more artistic freedom. In 1964, John Szarkrowski became the photography director at the Museum of Modern Art and featured Kertész's work often. Numerous awards followed including a Guggenheim Fellowship in 1974 along with Commander of the French Ordre des Arts et des Lettres. In 1979, Polaroid gave Kertész a SX-70 camera with instant film. The results proved to be spectacular:
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| Kertész, André, New York, 1979. |
Stay tuned for Part III of this series on Kertész as we further explore his Polaroid works!
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01. "André Kertész." Wikipedia. N.p., n.d. Web. 05 Sept. 2014.
02. "André Kertész." Visin Fotogrfica. N.p., n.d. Web. 05 Sept. 2014.
03. "PHILADELPHIA PHOTOGRAPHER: Andre Kertesz, The Lost Years." PHILADELPHIA PHOTOGRAPHER: Andre Kertesz, The Lost Years. N.p., n.d. Web. 05 Sept. 2014.