Bougival, France by Henri Cartier-Bresson
Henri Cartier-Bresson
Bougival, France
gelatin silver print
signed, inscribed "To Jane McGuffin in sincere appreciation of your kind cooperation" with Magnum stamps on the reverse. Printed no later than 1960
12 x 8 in ( 30.5 x 20.3 cm ) ( sheet )
Auction Estimate: $2,000.00 - $3,000.00
Price Realized $5,760.00
Sale date: March 25th 2025
The Artist
Jane McGuffin, c. 1960
Private Collection
Christie’s, auction, New York, 15 April 2010, lot 348
Estate of Robert Noakes
A man in overalls with his back turned to the camera looks at two women and a baby in the doorway of a home while a dog in the bottom right corner looks at the man. Henri Cartier-Bresson, known for his sensitive and poetic style of documentary photography, often used the phrase "the decisive moment." He sought to capture the instant when order and meaning come together, creating a moment of magic. Cartier-Bresson's spontaneous yet methodical approach to photography has influenced generations of photographers.
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Henri Cartier-Bresson
(1908-2004)
Henri Cartier-Bresson was a pioneering French photographer known for his humanist approach to candid photography, capturing fleeting moments with an unmatched sense of spontaneity. Often regarded as the father of street photography, he mastered using 35mm film and is famous for his "decisive moment" — the idea that the perfect photo exists in a split second. Cartier-Bresson was a founding member of Magnum Photos, an international photographic cooperative established in 1947, which became a platform for independent photographers around the world. Cartier-Bresson served as a corporal in the film and photo unit of the French Third Army during World War II. His photographic style was heavily influenced by his use of Leica cameras, enabling him to remain discreet while capturing intimate moments in public spaces.
His work is held in major collections worldwide, including The Museum of Modern Art in New York, the Tel Aviv Museum of Art, the National Gallery of Canada in Ottawa, and the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, as well as the Victoria and Albert Museum, the Art Institute of Chicago, and the Getty Museum. Cartier-Bresson also published numerous works with Thames & Hudson, solidifying his legacy as one of the most important photographers of the twentieth century.
