Henri Cartier-Bresson

warm-toned, credit, title, number, and date in pencil on the reverse, 1936-37, printed in the 1950s

Collection of curator and author Peter Pollack

By descent to his wife, Creilly Pollack

Acquired by The Metropolitan Museum of Art through the Warner Communications, Inc., Purchase Fund and Gift of Creilly Pollack, 1981

Sotheby's New York, Important Photographs from The Metropolitan Museum of Art Including Works from the Gilman Paper Company, 14 February 2006, Sale 8165, Lot 88

The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Counterparts: Form and Emotion in Photographs, 26 February - May 1982, and traveling to

Cincinnati, Contemporary Arts Center, May - July 1982

Dallas Museum of Art, August - September 1982

San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, November 1982 - January 1983

Washington, D. C., Corcoran Gallery of Art, February - April 1983

Weston J. Naef, Counterparts: Form and Emotion in Photographs (The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1982), pl. 3 (this print)

'Memorable and Beautiful,' LIFE, 13 October 1952, pp. 138-39

Robert Delpire, et al., Henri Cartier-Bresson: Photographer (Boston, 1979), pl. 145

Jean-Pierre Montier, Henri Cartier-Bresson and The Artless Art (Boston, 1996), pl. 111

Peter Galassi, Henri Cartier-Bresson: The Early Work (The Museum of Modern Art, 1987), fig. 36, p. 42

Henri Cartier-Bresson, The Mind's Eye: Writings on Photography and Photographers (Aperture, 1999), p. 52

Peter Galassi, Henri Cartier-Bresson: The Modern Century (The Museum of Modern Art, 2010), p. 150

Agnès Sire and Michel Frizot, Henri Cartier-Bresson: Scrapbook (London, 2006), pl. 201

Clément Chéroux, Henri Cartier-Bresson: Here and Now (Centre National d'Art et de Culture Georges Pompidou, 2013), pl. 128

Mike Weaver, ed., The Art of Photography, 1839-1989 (Yale University Press, 1989), pl. 277

Christian Bouqueret, Des Années Folles aux Années Noires: La Nouvelle Vision Photographique en France, 1920-1940 (Paris, 1997), p. 213

Manfred Heiting, et al., At the Still Point: Photographs from the Manfred Heiting Collection in the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, Volume II, Part 1 (Los Angeles and Amsterdam, in conjunction with the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, 2009), p. 329

This warm-toned print is on double-weight, matte-surface paper with a slightly pebbled surface. It is in generally excellent condition. It is very slightly rippled at the left edge. There is light soiling on the reverse, as well as small paper tape remnants at the lower corners on the reverse. None of these issues detract from the otherwise attractive appearance of this print. When examined under a black light, this print appears to fluoresce.
In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective qualified opinion.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE.

Cartier-Bresson made this photograph while on assignment for Regards, the Communist party's weekly illustrated magazine.  This print comes originally from the collection of Peter Pollock, author of the Picture History of Photography (1958), one of the first anthologies to popularize the history of the medium.