André Kertész, born in Budapest in 1894, is considered a foundational figure in the development of street, abstract, and surrealist photography. After the early death of his father, his uncle supported his family and helped him secure a job at the stock exchange, a career path Kertész followed out of obligation. However, he eventually yielded to his artistic passion, buying his first camera at 18 and capturing daily life and rural landscapes. Even in these early works, his eye for diagonals, reflections, and offbeat compositions emerged.
During World War I, after being wounded, Kertész photographed quieter moments on the sidelines. One notable photo from this period is Underwater Swimmer, Esztergom (1917), which highlights visual elements—mirrors, distortion, reflections—that would appear throughout his career. In 1925, he moved to Paris, where he refined his poetic style and pioneered street photography using a lightweight 35mm camera in the form a Leica (who were a newly established brand at the time). Paris also connected him to modernists and surrealists like Piet Mondrian and Man Ray, influencing work such as Chez Mondrian, a modernist photo famed for its minimalist structure and later his move into surrealist photography.
In Paris, Kertész also helped define the photo essay through collaborations with the magazine VU, contributing over 30 essays. His long-term project On Reading spanned 55 years and portrayed readers in various settings. The preface to the book explains how “Kertész captured readers from all walks of life in deeply personal, yet universal, moments. In every conceivable place — on rooftops, in public parks, on crowded streets, waiting in the wings of a school play — his images celebrate the power and pleasure of this solitary activity.”
His Distortions series (1933), funded by Le Sourire, marked his exploration of surrealism. Using funhouse mirrors, Kertész photographed warped female nudes, aligning with the surrealist notion of “convulsive beauty.” Though misunderstood by many critics, however, surrealist artists like Pablo Picasso and Francis Bacon appreciated the images. Publication was delayed due to WWII and American conservatism until 1976.
Kertész moved to New York in 1936 to escape growing European antisemitism. He struggled with language and finding artistic acceptance, and entered a period of unrewarding photographic work for House & Garden Magazing which he considered his “lost years.” Still, he continued evolving his style during this time, incorporating cubist elements in rooftop and window shots taken from his 12th-floor apartment.
In his old age, after the passing of his wife Elizabeth—whom he had been extremely close to—Kertész entered a period of mourning and became somewhat of a recluse, withdrawing almost entirely to the confines of his apartment for several years. During this time, he was gifted a Polaroid SX-70. Some sources claim it was given to him by his friend, the musician and photographer Graham Nash; others suggest that Kertész was part of a group of photographers and artists who were provided the camera by Polaroid upon its release to experiment with and promote it—a group that included Ansel Adams, Andy Warhol, and Walker Evans, among others.
This new technology was mastered by the photographer in a similar fashion to how he had mastered the equipment used in his earlier work. It allowed Kertész to take photographs without the need to develop film—something he had been unable to do for many years due to physical limitations. The camera rejuvenated his spirit, offering him an easy and immediate way to create once again. Using the SX-70, he began to produce primarily still-life images taken around his apartment, featuring books, photographs of his earlier work, and a myriad of other objects as focal points. Many of these items were mementos he and his wife had collected over the years, and he used this newfound photographic process to work through his grief over Elizabeth's death. In regard to working with Polaroids Kertesz stated “I began shooting slowly, slowly, slowly. But soon, going crazy. I worked mornings and late afternoons. With the morning light the sky is nice, and in the late afternoon, full of variation. I would come out in the morning and shooting, shooting, shooting, no time to eat. I discover the time has gone, and no breakfast. The same in the afternoon… I forget my medicine. Suddenly, I’m losing myself, losing pain, losing hunger, and yes, losing the sadness.”
The resulting images are often abstract and surreal. Kertész’s emotional state is reflected in the recurring presence of two glass figurines, which appear to symbolize his marriage and his enduring love for his late wife. This body of work also stands as a testament to the power of lifelong learning and the ability to continually reinvent one's creative process through experimentation—even in later life. The images are not only beautiful, but they also demonstrate the power of creating art within the limitations of the tools available.
Andre Kertesz passed away in 1985 at the age of 91.