Capa, Robert

Capa, Robert (kăp`ə), 1913–54, American war photographer, b. Hungary as Andre Friedmann. He came to Paris in 1933 and from that time on recorded with profound concern the spectacle of humanity caught in war. In 1936 he covered the Spanish civil war, taking the photograph of a Loyalist at the instant of death that has become a classic. In 18 years he covered five wars; the result is a powerful and very personal indictment of war. In 1946, Capa helped found Magnum, a select agency for photojournalists. His books include Death in the Making (1938) and Images of War (1964). Capa was killed in Vietnam by a Viet Minh land mine while photographing French combat troops.

Bibliography

See biography, Blood and Champagne (2003), by A. Kershaw.

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Capa, Robert

 orig. Andrei Friedmann

(born 1913, Budapest, Hung.—died May 25, 1954, Thai Binh, Viet.) Hungarian-born U.S. photojournalist. In Paris he presented his photographs as the work of a fictitious rich American, Robert Capa; the deception was soon discovered but he kept the name. He first achieved fame as a war correspondent in the Spanish Civil War (1936). In World War II he covered the fighting in Africa, Sicily, and Italy for Life magazine; images of the Normandy invasion are among his most memorable works. In 1947 he founded Magnum Photos with Henri Cartier-Bresson and David Seymour. He was killed by a land mine while photographing the French Indochina war for Life.