André Kertész (Hungarian, 1894-1985), began photographing in 1912. After spending several years as an amateur photographer in Hungary he made the decisive break for Paris in 1925 where he rapidly became part of the artists' circles. Among those who were aided or influenced by him in Paris were Brassai and Henri Cartier-Bresson. In an effort to satisy the American market, Kertész immigrated to New York in 1936. He did not plan to stay, but due to World War II he was unable to return to Europe and in 1944 became a US citizen. Kertész earned his living photographing for magazines and it was not until he retired from commercial work at age of 68 that he was free to focus again on the more personal subjects that had delighted him as an amateur. Working in a variety of styles, from portraits to still-lifes to nude distortions to photojournalism, Kertész consistently turned familiar incidents into revelations of human character by exposing the expressive detail of his subjects.