The Cartier-Bresson Foundation has two new exhibitions on offer, one of the work of American photographer Paul Strand (1890-1976), and the other juxtaposing shots of Mexico from Cartier-Bresson and Helen Levitt (1913-2009).

The exhibition of photos by Paul Strand explores not only his much commented ‘direct photography’ style (with many striking portraits) but also his political activities, as these eventually led to him leaving the USA (more or less forcibly) to live in France.

You’ll be able to scrutinise around 120 photos lent by the Fundación MAPFRE in Madrid, with a few more from the Pompidou Centre, and Strand’s film Manhatta (1921) made with Charles Sheeler will also be available to watch.

The second exhibition shows photos of Mexico taken by Helen Levitt, comparing them with photos of the same country taken by Cartier-Bresson. The two photographers met in New York in the spring of 1935. She was only 21 and had never travelled, but already loved Cartier-Bresson’s images from Mexico. A few years later, in 1941, she visited the country in order to take her own photos, searching for a sense of intimacy with the people she immortalised.

Around 60 photos by Levitt and Cartier-Bresson are on show, together with documents retracing the respective peregrinations of the two photographers in Mexico, and your visit will almost certainly be the first time you see the Foundation’s new extension – their vaulted stone cellars dating from the 18th century (6.5m wide and 3.5m high) have just been renovated to provide an extra 100m² of exhibition space.

This means that the Foundation now has a total of 500m² for its exhibitions, making it one of Paris’ biggest and prestigious spaces dedicated to photography 😃

If you would like a handsome souvenir of you time at the Foundation, a catalogue of the Levitt / Cartier-Bresson exhibition (156 pages, 82 photographies, 45€) is available from 28th February here at your local amazon.

And French-speakers can find more information about the current exhibitions and the next one (related to the official crowning of King Charles III) in the press release below.

Click the ‘fullscreen’ button at the bottom right for a more comfortable read.

Expositions Paul Strand / H… by jasonfist

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The exhibitions Henri Cartier-Bresson / Helen Levitt and Paul Strand are at the HCR Fondation (here) form 14th February to 23rd April 2023

Open every day except Mondays from 11am-7pm

Admisison: 10€ / 6€

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Une publication partagée par Fondation H. Cartier-Bresson (@fondationhcb)