Robert Capa

Robert Capa (1913-1954), Hungarian-born American photographer, outstanding for his war photographs. His original name was André Friedmann. He covered the Spanish Civil War (1936-1939; see Spain: Civil War), World War II (1939-1945), and the war in what was known as French Indochina (1946-1954; see Vietnam: The Expulsion of the French), where he was killed by a land mine in 1954. To Capa, technical considerations were secondary to catching a dramatic moment. His action photographs, such as those taken during the 1944 Normandy invasion, portray the violence of war with unique impact. In 1947, Capa cofounded prestigious Magnum Photos with, among others, the French photographer Henri Cartier-Bresson. The organization was the first cooperative agency for worldwide freelance photographers.