Editing Robert Capa

{{Short description|Hungarian-American photographer (1913–1954)}}
{{Eastern name order|Friedmann Endre Ernő}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=May 2023}}
{{Infobox artist
| name             = Robert Capa
| image            = RobertCapabyGerdaTaro.jpg
| caption          = Capa on assignment in Spain, using a [[Eyemo]] 35 mm movie camera, photographed by [[Gerda Taro]]
| birth_name       = Endre Ernő Friedmann<ref name="Capa, Robert"/>
| birth_date       = October 22, 1913
| birth_place      = [[Budapest]], [[Austria-Hungary]]
| death_date       = {{death date and age|1954|5|25|1913|10|22}}
| death_place      = [[Thái Bình Province]], [[French Indochina]]
| known_for        = [[War photography]]
| resting_place    = Amawalk Hill Cemetery, New York
}}
'''Robert Capa''' ({{IPAc-en|ˈ|k|ɑː|p|ə}}; born '''Endre Ernő Friedmann''',<ref name="Capa, Robert">{{cite web|url=http://www.emlekev.hu/evfordulok_2004_2010/2004/highlight/article/D888_ismerteto_03.html|title=Capa, Robert|access-date=February 18, 2009|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111006142640/http://www.emlekev.hu/evfordulok_2004_2010/2004/highlight/article/D888_ismerteto_03.html|archive-date=October 6, 2011}}</ref> {{IPA|hu|ˈɛndrɛ ˈɛrnøː ˈfridmɒn|lang}}; October 22, 1913 – May 25, 1954) was a [[Hungarian Americans|Hungarian-American]] [[War photography|war photographer]] and [[Photojournalism|photojournalist]]. He is considered by some to be the greatest combat and adventure photographer in history.<ref name="Kershaw">Kershaw, Alex. ''Blood and Champagne: The Life and Times of Robert Capa'', Macmillan (2002) {{ISBN|978-0306813566}}</ref>

Friedman had fled political repression in Hungary when he was a teenager, moving to Berlin, where he enrolled in college. He witnessed [[Adolf Hitler's rise to power]], which led him to move to [[Paris]], where he met and began to work with his professional partner [[Gerda Taro]], and they began to publish their work separately. Capa's deep friendship with [[David Seymour (photographer)|David Seymour]]-Chim was captured in [[Martha Gellhorn]]'s novella ''Two by Two''. He subsequently covered five wars: the [[Spanish Civil War]], the [[Second Sino-Japanese War]], [[World War II]] across Europe, the [[1948 Arab–Israeli War]], and the [[First Indochina War]], with his photos published in major magazines and newspapers.<ref>{{Cite book|title=Encyclopedia of Journalism|url=https://archive.org/details/encyclopediajour00ster_321|url-access=limited|last=Hudson|first=Berkley|publisher=SAGE|year=2009|isbn=978-0-7619-2957-4|editor-last=Sterling|editor-first=Christopher H.|location=Thousand Oaks, Calif.|pages=[https://archive.org/details/encyclopediajour00ster_321/page/n1094 1060]–67}}</ref>

During his career he risked his life numerous times, most dramatically as the only civilian photographer landing on [[Omaha Beach]] on [[D-Day]]. He documented the course of World War II in London, North Africa, Italy, and the [[liberation of Paris]]. His friends and colleagues included [[Ernest Hemingway]], [[Irwin Shaw]], [[John Steinbeck]] and director [[John Huston]].

In 1947, for his work recording World War II in pictures, U.S. general [[Dwight D. Eisenhower]] awarded Capa the [[Medal of Freedom (1945)|Medal of Freedom]]. That same year, Capa co-founded [[Magnum Photos]] in Paris. The organization was the first [[cooperative]] agency for worldwide freelance photographers. Hungary has issued a stamp and a gold coin in his honor.

He was killed when he stepped on a landmine in Vietnam.

==Early years==
Capa was born Endre Ernő Friedmann to the [[Jewish]] family of Júlia (née Berkovits) and Dezső Friedmann in [[Budapest]], [[Austria-Hungary]], on October 22, 1913.<ref name=Kershaw/> His mother, Julianna Henrietta Berkovits was a native of Nagykapos (now [[Veľké Kapušany]], Slovakia) and Dezső Friedmann came from the Transylvanian village of Csucsa (now [[Ciucea]], Romania).<ref name=Kershaw/> At the age of 18, he was accused of alleged communist sympathies and was forced to flee Hungary.<ref name=Davenport>Davenport, Alma. ''The History of Photography: An Overview'', Univ. of New Mexico Press (1991)</ref>{{rp|154}}

He moved to [[Berlin]], where he enrolled at [[Berlin University]] where he worked part-time as a darkroom assistant for income and then became a staff photographer for the German photographic agency, Dephot.<ref name=Davenport/>{{rp|154}} It was during that period that the [[Nazi Party]] came into power, which made Capa, a Jew, decide to leave Germany and move to Paris.<ref name=Davenport/>{{rp|154}}

==Career==
Capa's first published photograph was of [[Leon Trotsky]] making a speech in [[Copenhagen]] on "The Meaning of the Russian Revolution" in 1932.<ref name="bostonreview">{{Cite web |url=http://bostonreview.net/BR30.2/linfield.php |title=Linfield, ''Boston Review'' |access-date=August 29, 2010 |archive-date=November 6, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111106233046/http://bostonreview.net/BR30.2/linfield.php |url-status=dead }}</ref>

After moving to Paris, he became professionally involved with Gerta Pohorylle, later known as [[Gerda Taro]],<ref>{{cite web|url=http://zakhor-online.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/Gerda-Taro.jpg|title=Photo of Gerda Taro|website=zakhor-online.com|access-date=April 1, 2018}}</ref> a German-Jewish photographer who had moved to Paris for the same reasons he did.<ref name=Davenport/>{{rp|154}} The two of them decided to work under the alias Capa at this time, and she contributed to much of the early work. However, the two of them later separated aliases, with Pohorylle quickly creating her own alias 'Gerda Taro', and began publishing their work independently. Capa and Taro developed a romantic relationship alongside their professional one. Capa proposed and Taro refused, but they continued their involvement. He also shared a darkroom with French photographer [[Henri Cartier-Bresson]], with whom he would later co-found the [[Magnum Photos]] cooperative.<ref name=Davenport/>{{rp|154}}<ref name=vanity>[http://www.vanityfair.com/culture/2014/06/photographer-robert-capa-d-day "Robert Capa’s Longest Day"], ''Vanity Fair'', June 2014</ref>

===Spanish Civil War, 1936===

[[File:PikiWiki Israel 17486 Statue quot;Freedom is Freequot; - Tribute to th.JPG|thumb|A sculpture by [[Igael Tumarkin]] inspired by ''Death of a Loyalist Soldier'']]
From 1936 to 1939, Capa worked in Spain, photographing the [[Spanish Civil War]], along with Taro and [[David Seymour (photographer)|David Seymour]].<ref>[https://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/30/arts/design/30capa.html?_r=1&scp=2&sq=robert%20capa&st=cse "New Works by Photography’s Old Masters"], ''New York Times,'' April 30, 2009</ref>

It was during that war that Capa took the photo now called ''[[The Falling Soldier]]'' (1936), purported to show the death of a [[Republican faction (Spanish Civil War)|Republican]] soldier. The photo was published in magazines in France and then by ''[[Life (magazine)|Life]]'' and ''[[Picture Post]]''.<ref name="Ingledew">Ingledew, John. ''Photography'', Laurence King Publishing (2005) p. 184</ref> The authenticity of the photo was later questioned, with evidence including other photos from the scene suggesting it was staged.{{efn|The authenticity of the photograph is today in doubt, with some questioning its location, the identity of its subject, and the discovery of staged photographs taken at the same time and place.<ref name="PBS">{{Cite web|url=https://www.pbs.org/wnet/americanmasters/database/capa_r.html|title=Richard Whelan, ''Proving that Robert Capa's Falling Soldier is Genuine: a Detective Story,'' ''American Masters,'' PBS Website.|website=[[PBS]]|access-date=September 10, 2017|archive-date=August 12, 2006|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060812062421/http://www.pbs.org/wnet/americanmasters/database/capa_r.html|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>[http://rawstory.com/news/afp/Iconic_Capa_war_photo_was_staged_ne_07172009.html "Iconic Capa war photo was stage: newspaper"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090720232147/http://rawstory.com/news/afp/Iconic_Capa_war_photo_was_staged_ne_07172009.html |date=July 20, 2009 }}, AFP</ref>}} ''[[Picture Post]],'' a pioneering [[photojournalism]] magazine published in the United Kingdom, had once described then twenty-five year old Capa as "the greatest war photographer in the world."<ref name="Davenport" />{{rp|155}}

The next year, in 1937, Taro died when the motor vehicle on which she was traveling (apparently standing on the footboard) collided with an out-of-control tank. She had been returning from a photographic assignment covering the [[Battle of Brunete]].<ref name="Davenport" />

Capa accompanied then-journalist and author [[Ernest Hemingway]] to photograph the war, which Hemingway would later describe in his novel, ''[[For Whom the Bell Tolls]]'' (1940).<ref>{{cite web|url=https://cinemastationblog.files.wordpress.com/2010/11/capahemingway.jpg|title=Photo of Capa (far left) with Hemingway (far right) in Spain|website=wordpress.com|access-date=April 1, 2018}}</ref>  ''Life'' magazine published an article about Hemingway and his time in Spain, along with numerous photos by Capa.<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=M0oEAAAAMBAJ&dq=robert+capa+hemingway&pg=PA52 "Life Documents Hemingway's New Novel with War Shots"], ''Life'' magazine, January 6, 1941</ref>

In December 2007, three boxes filled with rolls of film, containing 4,500 35mm negatives of the Spanish Civil War by Capa, Taro, and Chim (David Seymour), which had been considered lost since 1939, were discovered in [[Mexico]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ffZMf_GBt6U |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211211/ffZMf_GBt6U| archive-date=December 11, 2021 |url-status=live|title=The Mexican Suitcase trailer|last=The212BERLIN|date=August 4, 2011|access-date=April 1, 2018|via=YouTube}}{{cbignore}}</ref><ref>[https://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/27/arts/design/27kenn.html?_r=1&ref=arts&oref=slogin "The Capa Cache"], ''New York Times'', January 27, 2008</ref><ref>[https://www.icp.org/exhibitions/the-mexican-suitcase-traveling-exhibition "The Mexican Suitcase, Rediscovered Spanish Civil War Negatives by Capa, Chim, and Taro"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210211201100/https://www.icp.org/exhibitions/the-mexican-suitcase-traveling-exhibition |date=February 11, 2021 }}, International Center of Photography</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.icp.org/files/exhibitions_mexicase_featuredcropped.jpg|title=Photo of the Spanish Civil War|website=icp.org|access-date=April 1, 2018}}</ref><ref>[https://www.ormsdirect.co.za/blog/2016/03/23/the-fascinating-story-of-the-mexican-suitcase/ "The Fascinating Story of The Mexican Suitcase"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171201040138/https://www.ormsdirect.co.za/blog/2016/03/23/the-fascinating-story-of-the-mexican-suitcase/ |date=December 1, 2017 }}, ''ORMS''</ref> In 2011, Trisha Ziff directed a film about those images, entitled ''[[The Mexican Suitcase]]''.<ref name="IDA">{{cite news|title=Meet the DocuWeeks Filmmakers: Trisha Ziff--'The Mexican Suitcase'|url=http://www.documentary.org/magazine/meet-docuweeks-filmmakers-trisha-ziff-mexican-suitcase|access-date=January 16, 2016|publisher = [[International Documentary Association]] | work=Documentary|issue=August 2011}}</ref>{{quote box
| quote = All you could do was to help individuals caught up in war, try to raise their spirits for a moment, perhaps flirt a little, make them laugh; ... and you could photograph them, to let them know that somebody cared.
| source = Robert Capa<ref name=washpost/>
| align = 
| width = 25em
|bgcolor = MistyRose
|}}

=== Chinese resistance to Imperial Japan, 1938 ===
In 1938, he traveled to the Chinese city of [[Hankou]], now within [[Wuhan]], to document the resistance to the [[Second Sino-Japanese War|Japanese invasion]].<ref>Stephen R. MacKinnon includes photographs by Robert Capa, in ''Wuhan, 1938: War, Refugees, and the Making of Modern China'' (Berkeley: University of California Press,  2008).</ref> He sent his images to ''Life'' magazine, which published some of them in its May 23, 1938, issue.<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=1koEAAAAMBAJ&dq=Robert+Capa+china&pg=PA19 Capa photos of the Chinese resistance], ''Life'', May 23, 1938</ref>
[[File:Chinese Soldier.jpg|thumb|"Chinese Soldier" by Capa]]

=== World War II ===
At the start of [[World War II]], Capa was in New York City, having moved there from Paris to look for work, and to escape Nazi persecution. During the war, Capa was sent to various parts of the [[European Theatre]] on photography assignments.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.vanityfair.com/culture/2014/06/photographer-robert-capa-d-day|title=War Photographer Robert Capa and his Coverage of D-day|last=Brenner|first=Marie|magazine=Vanity Fair|access-date=November 21, 2017|language=en}}</ref> He first photographed for ''[[Collier's Weekly]]'', before switching to ''[[Life (magazine)|Life]]'' after he was fired by Collier's. He was the only "[[enemy alien]]" photographer for the [[Allies of World War II|Allies]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Robert Capa at 100: The war photographer's legacy |url=https://www.bbc.com/culture/article/20131022-robert-capa-photo-warrior |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230510153006/https://www.bbc.com/culture/article/20131022-robert-capa-photo-warrior |archive-date=May 10, 2023 |access-date=May 10, 2023 |website=www.bbc.com |language=en}}</ref> On October 7, 1943, Robert Capa was in [[Naples]] with ''Life'' reporter [[Will Lang Jr.]], and there he photographed the [[1943 Naples post office bombing|Naples post office bombing]].<ref>''Slightly Out of Focus'', Henry Holt and Company, New York, 1947, p. 104</ref>
[[File:La Guerra Civil a través del lente de Robert Capa.JPG|thumb|A display of some of Capa's works]]

==== D-Day, Omaha beach, 1944 ====
{{Main|The Magnificent Eleven}}

A group of images known as "The Magnificent Eleven" were taken by Capa on [[D-Day]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/originals/c4/04/5d/c4045d946959d04ce27f96bbdcd2195f.jpg|title=Photo by Capa on D-Day|website=pinimg.com|access-date=April 1, 2018}}</ref> Taking part in the Allied invasion, Capa was attached to the [[16th Infantry Regiment (United States)|16th Infantry Regiment]], 1st Infantry Division ("Big Red One") on [[Omaha Beach]].<ref>[http://www.nationalww2museum.org/learn/education/for-students/ww2-history/d-day-june-6-1944.html D-Day], National WWII Museum</ref><ref name=vanity/><ref>{{cite web|url=http://reelfoto.blogspot.com/2012/12/robert-capa-20th-century-war.html|title=The Reel Foto: Robert Capa: 20th Century War Photographer|last=Jay|date=December 2, 2012|website=reelfoto.blogspot.com|access-date=April 1, 2018}}</ref> The US personnel attacking Omaha Beach faced some of the heaviest resistance from German troops inside the bunkers of the [[Atlantic Wall]]. Photographic historian [[A. D. Coleman]] has suggested that Capa traveled to the beach in the same landing craft as Colonel [[George A. Taylor]], commander of the 16th Infantry Regiment, who landed 1½ hours after the first wave, near [[Colleville-sur-Mer]].<ref name="Coleman">{{Cite web|url=https://medium.com/exposure-magazine/alternate-history-robert-capa-on-d-day-2657f9af914|title=Alternate History: Robert Capa on D-Day|last=Coleman|first=A. D.|date=February 12, 2019|website=exposure magazine|publisher=Society for Photographic Education|access-date=February 18, 2019}}</ref>

Capa subsequently stated that he took 106 pictures, but later discovered that all but 11 had been destroyed. This incident may have been caused by Capa's cameras becoming waterlogged at Normandy,<ref name=vanity/> although the more frequent allegation is that a young assistant accidentally destroyed the pictures while they were being developed at the photo lab in London.<ref>[http://www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/2/3d37a03e-c8be-11e2-acc6-00144feab7de.html#slide0 Simon Kuper, "Interview: John Morris on his friend Robert Capa"], ''Financial Times'', May 31, 2013. Retrieved June 1, 2013.</ref> However, this narrative has been challenged by Coleman and others.<ref name="Coleman"/> In 2016, [[John G. Morris]], who was picture editor at the London bureau of ''Life'' in 1944, agreed that it was more likely that Capa captured 11 images in total on D-Day.<ref name="Coleman"/><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://lens.blogs.nytimes.com/2016/12/06/as-he-turns-100-john-morris-recalls-a-century-in-photojournalism/|title=As He Turns 100, John Morris Recalls a Century in Photojournalism|last=Estrin|first=James|date=December 6, 2016|website=Lens Blog|publisher=New York Times|language=en-US|access-date=February 18, 2019}}</ref> The 11 prints were included in ''Life'' magazine's issue on June 19, 1944,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.slightly-out-of-focus.com/Capa_file/Capa%20images/d-day%20life/D%20DAY%201.jpg|title=''Life'' magazine story with Capa's images|website=slightly-out-of-focus.com|access-date=April 1, 2018|archive-date=September 30, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150930161105/http://www.slightly-out-of-focus.com/Capa_file/Capa%20images/d-day%20life/D%20DAY%201.jpg|url-status=dead}}</ref> with captions written by magazine staffers, as Capa did not provide ''Life'' with notes or a verbal description of what they showed.<ref name="Coleman"/>

The captions have since been shown to be erroneous, as were subsequent descriptions of the images by Capa himself.<ref name="Coleman"/> For example, men described by ''Life'' as infantrymen taking cover behind a [[Czech hedgehog|hedgehog]] obstacle during the assault landing were in fact members of Gap Assault Team 10 – a combined US Navy/US Army demolition unit tasked with blowing up obstacles and clearing the way for landing craft after the beach had been secured.<ref name="Coleman"/><ref>[https://www.history.navy.mil/research/library/online-reading-room/title-list-alphabetically/d/d-day-the-normandy-invasion-combat-demolition-units.html Lt. (jg) H. L. Blackwell, Jr. Report on Naval Combat Demolition Units &#91;NCDUs&#93; In Operation "Neptune" as part of Task Force 122 (5 July, 1944)] (February 19, 2019).</ref>

==== ''The Shaved Woman of Chartres'' ====
Capa took photographs during the Allied invasion of [[German military administration in occupied France during World War II|France]] in 1944. His picture ''[[The Shaved Woman of Chartres]]'', taken on August 16, 1944, shows a woman whose head has been shaved as a punishment for collaboration with the Nazis.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.parismatch.com/Actu/Societe/La-veritable-histoire-de-la-tondue-de-Chartres-583028|title=2014 – L'été de la mémoire – La véritable histoire de la tondue de Chartres|first=Paris|last=Match|website=parismatch.com|date=August 22, 2014 }}</ref>

==== ''[[The Picture of the Last Man to Die]]'' ====
[[File:Capahaus-saniert.jpg|thumb|[[Capa House]] in Leipzig 2015]]
On April 18, 1945, Capa captured images of a fight to secure a bridge in [[Leipzig]], Germany. These pictures included an image of [[Raymond J. Bowman]]'s death by sniper fire. This image was published in a spread in ''[[Life magazine|Life]]'' magazine with the caption "The picture of the last man to die."<ref name=tracesofwar>{{cite web |url=https://www.tracesofwar.com/persons/48579/Bowman-Raymond-J.htm |title=Bowman, Raymond J. |website=tracesofwar.com |access-date=April 23, 2016}}</ref>

=== Post-war Soviet Union, 1947 ===
In 1947 Capa traveled to the [[Soviet Union]] with his friend, the American writer [[John Steinbeck]].<ref name=Railsback/> They originally met when they shared a room in an Algiers hotel with other war correspondents before the Allied invasion of Italy in 1943.<ref name=Railsback/> They reconnected in New York, where Steinbeck told him he was thinking about visiting the Soviet Union, now that the war was over.<ref name=Railsback/>

Capa suggested they go there together and collaborate on a book, with Capa documenting the war-torn nation with photographs.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.phaidon.com/resource/capa100-4.jpg|title=Photo of John Steinbeck and Robert Capa boarding a plane for the USSR, 1947|website=phaidon.com|access-date=April 1, 2018}}</ref> The trip resulted in Steinbeck's ''[[A Russian Journal]]'', which was published both as a book and a syndicated newspaper serial.<ref name=Railsback/> Photos were taken in Moscow, [[Kyiv]], [[Tbilisi]], [[Batumi]] and among the ruins of [[Stalingrad]].<ref name=Railsback>Railsback, Brian E., Meyer, Michael J. ''A John Steinbeck Encyclopedia'', Greenwood Publishing Group (2006) p. 50</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=http://theglobalpanorama.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/6250670988_ed13b1ab95_z.jpg |title=Photo of Stalingrad, taken by Capa |access-date=October 28, 2016 |archive-date=October 28, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161028154146/http://theglobalpanorama.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/6250670988_ed13b1ab95_z.jpg |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/736x/c2/80/9f/c2809fdea257f8d92da70a3487cca1e5.jpg|title=Photo of Tiflis, Georgia, 1947|website=pinimg.com|access-date=April 1, 2018}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://agenda.ge/uploads/files/NYC44884.jpg|title=Photo of Georgian farmworkers|website=agenda.ge|access-date=April 1, 2018|archive-date=October 28, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161028215057/http://agenda.ge/uploads/files/NYC44884.jpg|url-status=dead}}</ref> They remained good friends until Capa's death; Steinbeck took the news of Capa's death very hard.<ref name=Railsback/><ref>{{cite web|url=https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/originals/a4/a0/2e/a4a02e23f0c38be915c975d984f8148b.jpg|title=Photo of Capa and Steinbeck|website=pinimg.com|access-date=April 1, 2018}}</ref>

===Magnum Photos agency, 1947===
In 1947, Capa founded the [[cooperative]] venture [[Magnum Photos]] in Paris with [[Henri Cartier-Bresson]], William Vandivert, [[David Seymour (photographer)|David Seymour]], and [[George Rodger]]. It was a cooperative agency to manage work for and by freelance photographers, and developed a reputation for the excellence of its photo-journalists. In 1952, he became the president.{{Citation needed|date=November 2017}}

===Founding of Israel, 1948===
Capa toured Israel during its founding and while it was being attacked by neighboring states. He took the numerous photographs that accompanied [[Irwin Shaw]]'s book, ''Report on Israel''.<ref name=jewishreview>[http://jewishreviewofbooks.com/articles/1969/robert-capas-road-to-jerusalem/ "Robert Capa's Road to Jerusalem"], ''Jewish Review of Books'', Winter 2016</ref>
[[File:Capa-Haus.jpg|thumb|People gathered to view Capa's work in the Capa-House]]

===Documenting film productions, 1953===
In 1953 he joined screenwriter [[Truman Capote]] and director [[John Huston]] in Italy where Capa was assigned to photograph the making of the film, ''[[Beat the Devil (film)|Beat the Devil]]''.<ref name=independent>[https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/robert-capa-remembered-1358188.html "Robert Capa Remembered"], ''Independent'' UK, October 12, 1996</ref> During their off time they, and star [[Humphrey Bogart]], enjoyed playing poker.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/736x/59/ea/59/59ea594ce8b18646cc7ae277e3546726.jpg|title=Photo of Capa, John Huston and Burl Ives|website=pinimg.com|access-date=April 1, 2018}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.gettyimages.com/pictures/robert-capa-243107#hungarian-war-photographer-and-photojournalist-robert-capa-visits-picture-id178685903|title=Robert Capa Photo Gallery|website=gettyimages.com|access-date=April 1, 2018}}</ref>

Capa also acted in the film [[Temptation (1946 film)|''Temptation'' (1946 film)]], playing a supporting role. Allegedly, Capa received the part after visiting his friend [[Charles Korvin]] on the set. Capa claimed that he could play the part better than the actor who had originally been cast, and after speaking with the director was cast in the final film.

===First Indochina War and death, 1954===
<!--[[Image:RobertCapaLife05161938.jpg|thumb|left|Capa photo of Chinese soldier]]-->

In the early 1950s, Capa travelled to Japan for an exhibition associated with Magnum Photos. While there, ''Life'' magazine asked him to go on assignment to Southeast Asia, where the French had been fighting for eight years in the [[First Indochina War]]. Although he had claimed a few years earlier that he was finished with war, Capa accepted the job. He accompanied a French regiment located in [[Thái Bình Province]] with two ''Time-Life'' journalists, [[John Mecklin]] and Jim Lucas. On May 25, 1954, the regiment was passing through a dangerous area under fire when Capa decided to leave his jeep and go up the road to photograph the advance. Capa was killed when he stepped on a landmine near the road.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Aronson |first1=Marc |last2=Budhos |first2=Marina |title=Eyes of the World Robert Capa, Gerda Taro, and the Invention of Modern Photojournalism |date=2017 |publisher=Macmillan Publishing Group, LLC. |isbn=9780805098358}}</ref><ref name=Davenport/>{{rp|155}}<ref>{{cite web|last1=Badenbroek|first1=Michael|title=Robert Capa – war photographer|url=http://www.army-photographer.com/index.php/robert-capa|website=army-photographer.com|access-date=April 28, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160504232954/http://www.army-photographer.com/index.php/robert-capa|archive-date=May 4, 2016|url-status=dead}}</ref>

He was 40 at the time of his death. He is buried in plot #189 at [[Amawalk Friends Meeting House|Amawalk Hill Cemetery]] (also called Friends Cemetery), Amawalk, Westchester County, New York along with his mother, Julia, and his brother, [[Cornell Capa]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Robert Capa (1913-1954) - Find a Grave Memorial |url=https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/169/robert-capa |access-date=2025-04-06 |website=www.findagrave.com |language=en}}</ref>

==Personal life==
Capa was born into a middle-class Jewish family in Budapest,<ref>[http://jewish.hu/view.php?clabel=robert_capa "Robert Capa"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120425160759/http://www.jewish.hu/view.php?clabel=robert_capa |date=April 25, 2012 }}, Jewish History, Hungary</ref> where his parents were tailors. Capa's mother was a successful fashion shop owner, and his father was a tailor in her shop.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://iphf.org/inductees/robert-capa/|title = Robert Capa}}</ref> Capa had two brothers: a younger brother, photographer [[Cornell Capa]] and an older brother, László Friedmann. Not much is known of Capa's older brother László, except that he married Angela Maria Friedmann-Csordas in 1933. He died a in 1935 of rheumatic fever and was buried next to his father in the [[Kozma Street Cemetery|Kozma Utca Jewish Cemetery]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.geni.com/people/L%C3%A1zsl%C3%B3-Friedmann/6000000104949747189|title=László Friedmann|website=geni_family_tree|date=September 23, 1911 }}</ref>

At the age of 18, Capa moved to [[Vienna]], later relocated to [[Prague]], and finally settled in Berlin: all cities that were centers of artistic and cultural ferment in this period. He studied at the [[Deutsche Hochschule für Politik]] from 1931 until 1933, when the [[Nazi Party]] instituted restrictions on Jews and banned them from universities.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Robert Capa |url=https://capacenter.hu/en/robert-capa/ |access-date=2025-04-06 |website=Capa Központ}}</ref> He then moved to Paris and in 1934 met Gerda Pohorylle, a German Jewish refugee. "André Friedman", as he called himself then, taught Gerda photography, and together they created the name and image of "Robert Capa". At that time, both photographers published their work under the pseudonym of Robert Capa.<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.eldiario.es/cultura/fenomenos/Gerda-Taro-Robert-Capa-seudonimo_0_732126905.html|title=Gerda Taro, Robert Capa y los peligros de firmar con un seudónimo masculino|work=eldiario.es|access-date=January 23, 2018|language=es}}</ref> Gerda later took the name [[Gerda Taro]] and became successful in her own right. She travelled with Capa to Spain in 1936 intending to document the Spanish Civil War. In July 1937, Capa traveled briefly to Paris while Gerda remained in [[Madrid]]. She was killed near Brunete during a [[Battle of Brunete|battle]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Gerda Taro 80: Killed on Assignment {{!}} World Book |url=https://www.worldbook.com/behind-the-headlines/Gerda-Taro-80-Killed-on-Assignment?srsltid=AfmBOooRT6LC_N8psixk4ysuYhQy-JY1G0ZHH5SiPzIJBV5Bd-Z-PMMU |access-date=2025-04-06 |website=www.worldbook.com}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=O'Hagan |first=Sean |last2=O’Hagan |first2=Sean |date=2012-05-12 |title=Robert Capa and Gerda Taro: love in a time of war |url=https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2012/may/13/robert-capa-gerda-taro-relationship |access-date=2025-04-06 |work=The Observer |language=en-GB |issn=0029-7712}}</ref> Capa, who was reportedly engaged to her, was deeply shocked and never married.

In February 1943, Capa met Elaine Justin. They fell in love and the relationship lasted until the end of the war. Capa spent most of his time in the frontline. Capa called the redheaded Elaine "Pinky," and wrote about her in his war memoir, ''Slightly Out of Focus''. In 1945, Elaine Justin broke up with Capa; she later married Chuck Romine. Some months later, Capa became the lover of the actress [[Ingrid Bergman]], who was touring in Europe to entertain American soldiers.<ref name="Marton">{{cite book |last=Marton |first=Kati |author-link=Kati Marton |title=The Great Escape: Nine Jews Who Fled Hitler and Changed the World |location=New York |publisher=Simon & Schuster |year=2006 |isbn=978-0-7432-6115-9 |oclc=70864519 |lccn=2006049162 |url=https://archive.org/details/greatescapeninej00mart }}</ref><sup>p.&nbsp;176</sup> In December 1945, Capa followed her to Hollywood. The relationship ended in the summer of 1946 when Capa traveled to Turkey.<ref name="vanity" />

==Legacy==
[[File:Lápida de Robert Capa (cropped).jpg|thumb|Monument to Robert Capa's death in Normandy, France]]

The government of Hungary issued a postage stamp in Capa's honor in 2013.<ref>{{cite web|access-date=December 3, 2018|title=Magyar Posta Ltd. – 2013|url=https://www.posta.hu/stamps/stamps/archive_2013|website=Magyar Posta Zrt.}}</ref> That same year it issued a 5,000-forint ($20) gold coin, also in his honor, showing an engraving of Capa.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.coin-currency.com/media/Hungary/CAPA-.jpg|title=Photo of Hungarian gold coin dedicated to Capa|website=coin-currency.com|access-date=April 1, 2018}}</ref>

His younger brother, [[Cornell Capa]], also a photographer, worked to preserve and promote Robert's legacy as well as develop his own identity and style. He founded the International Fund for Concerned Photography in 1966. To give this collection a permanent home, he founded the [[International Center of Photography]] in New York City in 1974. This was one of the foremost and most extensive conservation efforts on photography to be developed. Indeed, Capa and his brother believed strongly in the importance of photography and its preservation, much like film would later be perceived and duly treated in a similar way. The [[Overseas Press Club]] created the [[Robert Capa Gold Medal]] in the photographer's honor.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.opcofamerica.org/opc_awards/archive/byaward/award_capa.php|archiveurl=https://archive.today/20071105202454/http://www.opcofamerica.org/opc_awards/archive/byaward/award_capa.php|url-status=dead|title=''Overseas Press Club of America'', Awards Archive.|archivedate=November 5, 2007}}</ref>

Capa is known for redefining wartime photojournalism. His work came from the trenches as opposed to the more arms-length perspective that was the precedent. He was famed for saying, "If your photographs aren't good enough, you're not close enough."<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.magnumphotos.com/C.aspx?VP=XSpecific_MAG.PhotographerDetail_VPage&l1=0&pid=2K7O3R14YQNW&nm=Robert%20Capa|title=Robert Capa|publisher=Magnum Photos|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120415032813/http://www.magnumphotos.com/C.aspx?VP=XSpecific_MAG.PhotographerDetail_VPage&l1=0&pid=2K7O3R14YQNW&nm=Robert%20Capa |archive-date=April 15, 2012}}</ref>

He is credited with coining the term [[Generation X]]. He used it as a title for a photo-essay about the young people reaching adulthood immediately after the Second World War. It was published in 1953 in ''[[Picture Post]]'' (UK) and ''[[Holiday (magazine)|Holiday]]'' (US). Capa said, "We named this unknown generation, The Generation X, and even in our first enthusiasm we realised that we had something far bigger than our talents and pockets could cope with."<ref name=Ulrich>{{cite book |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=v10ZUR_Ca3EC&pg=PA3 |title=GenXegesis: Essays on Alternative Youth |chapter=Introduction: A (Sub)cultural Genealogy |author=Ulrich, John |editor=Andrea L. Harris |pages=3 |isbn=9780879728625 |date=November 1, 2003|publisher=Popular Press }}</ref>

In 1947, for his work recording World War II in pictures, U.S. general [[Dwight D. Eisenhower]] awarded Capa the [[Medal of Freedom (1945)|Medal of Freedom]] Citation<ref name=vanity/><ref name=washpost>[[George Stevens Jr.]], [https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/entertainment/books/1985/09/29/robert-capa-a-photographer-at-war/309792cf-fc13-4392-b03a-4c879609255a/ "Robert Capa: A Photographer at War"], ''Washington Post'', September 29, 1985</ref> The [[International Center of Photography]] organized a travelling exhibition titled ''This Is War: Robert Capa at Work'', which displayed Capa's innovations as a photojournalist in the 1930s and 1940s. It includes vintage prints, contact sheets, caption sheets, handwritten observations, personal letters and original magazine layouts from the [[Spanish Civil War]], the [[Second Sino-Japanese War]] and [[World War II]]. The exhibition appeared at the [[Barbican Art Gallery]], the International Center of Photography of Milan, and the [[Museu Nacional d'Art de Catalunya]] in the fall of 2009, before moving to the Nederlands Fotomuseum from October 10, 2009, until January 10, 2010.<ref>[http://www.icp.org/site/c.dnJGKJNsFqG/b.3569587/k.3EA4/This_Is_War_Robert_Capa_at_Work.htm Travelling exhibitions: ''This Is War! Robert Capa at Work''] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090504004602/http://www.icp.org/site/c.dnJGKJNsFqG/b.3569587/k.3EA4/This_Is_War_Robert_Capa_at_Work.htm |date=May 4, 2009 }}, International Center of Photography</ref>

In 1976 Capa was posthumously inducted into the [[International Photography Hall of Fame and Museum]].<ref name=":0" />
[[File:Capastraße.jpg|thumb|A street in Leipzig named after Capa]]
[[File:Robert Capa emléktáblája Budapest Városház utca 10.jpg|thumb|Commemorative plaque for Capa in Budapest]]

==Politics==
As a young boy, Capa was drawn to the Munkakör (Employment Circle), a group of [[Socialism|socialist]] and [[avant-garde]] artists, photographers, and intellectuals centered around Budapest. He participated in the demonstrations against the [[Miklós Horthy]] regime. In 1931, just before his first photo was published, Capa was arrested by the Hungarian secret police, beaten, and jailed for his radical political activity. A police official's wife—who happened to know his family—won Capa's release on the condition that he would leave Hungary immediately.<ref name="bostonreview" />

The ''[[Boston Review]]'' has described Capa as "a leftist, and a [[Democratic socialism|democrat]]—he was passionately pro-[[Second Spanish Republic|Loyalist]] and passionately [[anti-fascist]] ..." During the Spanish Civil War, Capa travelled with and photographed the [[Workers' Party of Marxist Unification]] (POUM), which resulted in his best-known photograph.<ref name="bostonreview" />

The British magazine ''[[Picture Post]]'' ran his photos from Spain in the 1930s accompanied by a portrait of Capa, in profile, with the simple description: "He is a passionate democrat, and he lives to take photographs."<ref name="bostonreview" />

==In popular culture==
* In 2013, the Japanese Female Musical Theater group Takarazuka Revue produced a musical piece based on the life of Capa. Ms. [[Ouki Kaname]] performed the lead role as Capa. The group performed the musical in 2012 in [[Takarazuka, Hyōgo|Takarazuka]] and Tokyo and in 2014 in [[Nagoya]]. 
* In [[Patrick Modiano]]'s novella ''[[Afterimage]]'' Capa is a mentor for the subject of the novella, Francis Jansen, a photographer who retires to Mexico.
* In [[Alfred Hitchcock]]'s movie ''[[Rear Window]]'', the protagonist L. B. "Jeff" Jefferies ([[James Stewart]]) was partly based on Capa.<ref>{{Cite book|url=http://catdir.loc.gov/catdir/samples/cam032/99012160.pdf#page=8|title=Alfred Hitchcock's Rear Window|last=Belton|first=John|publisher=Cambridge University Press|year=2000|isbn=0-521-56423-9|location=Cambridge, United Kingdom|pages=5}}</ref>
* Poet [[Owen Sheers]] wrote a poem about Capa, named ''Happy Accidents''. It can be found in the anthology ''Skirrid Hill''.
* In English indie rock group [[Alt-J]]'s 2012 album ''[[An Awesome Wave]],'' the love between Capa and Taro, and the circumstances of his death are described in the last track, "Taro".
* The Austrian rock singer [[Falco (musician)|Falco]] wrote the song "Kamikaze Cappa" in tribute to Capa.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.metafilter.com/110724/Rock-Me-Falco|title=Rock Me, Falco|website=www.metafilter.com|language=en|access-date=November 21, 2017}}</ref>

==Collections==
*[[Art Institute of Chicago]], Chicago, Illinois<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.artic.edu/collection?artist_ids=Robert+Capa|title = Robert Capa|newspaper = The Art Institute of Chicago}}</ref>
*[[Metropolitan Museum of Art]], New York<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/283315|title=Robert Capa &#124; The Falling Soldier|website=The Metropolitan Museum of Art}}</ref>
*[[Museum of Modern Art]], New York<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.moma.org/collection/works/46684?sov_referrer=artist&artist_id=956&page=1|title=Robert Capa. Death of a Loyalist Militiaman, Córdoba front, Spain. Late August-early September, 1936 &#124; MoMA}}</ref> 
*Robert Capa Contemporary Photography Center, Budapest
*''Robert Capa: The Definitive Collection'', Magnum Photos<ref>{{cite web |title=Robert Capa: The Definitive Collection |url=https://www.magnumphotos.com/arts-culture/robert-capa-the-definitive-collection/ |website=Magnum Photos |access-date=February 20, 2020}}</ref>
* ''Robert Capa'', International Center of Photography<ref>{{cite web |title=Robert Capa |url=https://www.icp.org/browse/archive/constituents/robert-capa?all/all/all/all/0 |website=International Center of Photography |access-date=February 20, 2020}}</ref>
* ''Robert Capa Photographs'', Worcester Art Museum<ref>{{cite web |title=Robert Capa Photographs |url=https://www.worcesterart.org/exhibitions/past/capa.html |website=Worcester Art Museum |access-date=February 20, 2020}}</ref>
* Robert Capa, The J. Paul Getty Museum<ref>{{cite web |title=Robert Capa |url=http://www.getty.edu/art/collection/artists/14909/robert-capa-american-born-hungary-1913-1954/ |website=The J Paul Getty Museum |access-date=February 20, 2020}}</ref>
* Robert Capa, International Photography Hall of Fame<ref name=":0">{{cite web |title=Robert Capa |url=https://iphf.org/inductees/robert-capa/ |website=International Photography Hall of Fame |access-date=February 20, 2020}}</ref>

==Publications==

===Publications by Capa===
*''[[The Battle of Waterloo Road]].'' New York: [[Random House]], 1941. {{OCLC|654774055}}. Photographs by Capa. With text by [[Diana Forbes-Robertson]].
*''Invasion!.'' New York, London: [[Appleton-Century-Crofts|D. Appleton-Century]], 1944. {{OCLC|1022382}}. Photographs by Capa. With text by [[Charles Wertenbaker]].
*''Slightly Out of Focus.'' New York: [[Henry Holt and Company]], 1947. New York: [[Modern Library]], 2001. {{ISBN|9780375753961}}. Text and photographs by Capa. With a foreword by [[Cornell Capa]] and an introduction by Richard Whelan. A memoir.
*''Images of War.'' New York: Grossman, 1964. Text and photographs by Capa. {{OCLC|284771}}. With a text by [[John Steinbeck]].
*''Robert Capa: Photographs.'' New York: [[Aperture Foundation|Aperture]], 1996. {{ISBN|978-0893816759}}. New York: Aperture, 2004.
*''Heart of Spain: Robert Capa's Photographs of the Spanish Civil War.'' New York: Aperture, 1999. {{ISBN|9780893818319}}. New York: Aperture, 2005. {{ISBN|978-1931788021}}.
*''Robert Capa: The Definitive Collection.'' London, New York: [[Phaidon Press|Phaidon]], 2001. {{ISBN|9780714840673}}. London, New York: Phaidon, 2004. {{ISBN|978-0714844497}}. Edited by Richard Whelan.
*''Robert Capa at Work: This is War!.'' Göttingen: [[Steidl]], 2009. {{ISBN|9783865219442}}. Photographs by Capa. With a foreword by Willis E. Hartshorn, an introduction by Christopher Phillips, and text by Richard Whelan. Published to accompany an exhibition at the [[International Center of Photography]], New York, September 2007 – January 2008. "A detailed examination of six of Robert Capa's most important war reportages from the first half of his career: the Falling Soldier (1936), Chinese resistance to the Japanese invasion (1938), the end of the Spanish Civil War in Catalonia (1938–39), D-Day, the US paratroop invasion of Germany and the liberation of Leipzig (1945)."<ref>{{cite book|title=Robert Capa at work: this is war!|first1=Robert|last1=Capa|first2=Richard|last2=Whelan|last3=International Center of Photography|date=April 1, 2018|publisher=Steidl ; Thames & Hudson [distributor|oclc = 755099561}}</ref>
**''Questa è la Guerra!: Robert Capa al Lavoro.'' Italy: Contrasto, 2009. {{ISBN|9788869651601}}. Published to accompany an exhibition in Milan, March–June 2009.<ref>{{cite book|title=Questa e la Guerra!: Robert Capa al lavoro|first1=Richard|last1=Whelan|last2=International Center of Photography|date=April 1, 2018|publisher=International Center of Photography : Two Contrast|oclc = 772645394}}</ref>

===Publications with others===
*''[[Death in the Making]].'' New York: [[Pascal Covici|Covici Friede]], 1938. Photographs by Capa and Taro.
*''[[A Russian Journal]].'' New York: [[Viking Press|Viking]], 1948. Text by [[John Steinbeck]], illustrated with photographs by Capa.
*''Report on Israel.'' New York: [[Simon & Schuster]], 1950. By [[Irwin Shaw]] and Capa.

===Publications about Capa===
*''Robert Capa: a Biography.'' New York: [[Alfred A. Knopf|Knopf]], 1985. By Richard Whelan. {{ISBN|0-394-52488-8}}.
*''Blood and Champagne: The Life and Times of Robert Capa.'' Macmillan, 2002; Thomas Dunne, 2003; {{ISBN|978-0312315641}}. [[Da Capo Press]], 2004; {{ISBN|978-0306813566}}. By [[Alex Kershaw]]. 
*''La foto de Capa.'' Córdoba: Paso de Cebra Ediciones, 2011. A fictionalised account of the discovery of the exact location of the "Falling Soldier" photograph. {{ISBN|978-84-939103-0-3}}.
*''Nizza oder die Liebe zur Kunst.'' Bad König: Vantage Point World, 2013. By Axel Dielmann. {{ISBN|978-3-981-53549-5}}. Text in German.

==Notes==
{{Notelist}}

==References==
{{reflist|25em}}

==External links==
{{Wikiquote}}
{{commons category|Robert Capa}}
* [http://www.magnumphotos.com/robertcapa Capa's Photography Portfolio — Magnum Photos]
* [https://www.pbs.org/wnet/americanmasters/robert-capa-in-love-and-war/47/ PBS biography and analysis of ''Falling Soldier'' authenticity] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060812062421/http://www.pbs.org/wnet/americanmasters/database/capa_r.html |date=August 12, 2006 }}
* [http://www.alistairscott.com/capa/ Discussion on the authenticity of Capa's "Fallen Republican Soldier"] Does it matter if it was faked?
* [https://www.nytimes.com/slideshow/2008/01/27/arts/20080127_KENN_SLIDESHOW_index.html Robert Capa's "Lost Negatives"], ''The New York Times'', 2008
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20060321110648/http://www.temple.edu/photo/photographers/capa/capa1.html Photography Temple. "Photographer Robert Capa"]
* [https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/art/features/the-woman-who-captured-robert-capas-heart-1999038.html The woman who captured Robert Capa's heart], ''The Independent'', 2010
* [http://www.japantimes.co.jp/culture/2013/02/14/arts/driven-to-shoot-on-the-frontlines/#.UR4_6vKjap1 Driven to Shoot on the Frontlines], ''The Japan Times'', 2014
* {{Findagrave|169|Robert Capa}}

{{Robert Capa}}
{{Vietnam War correspondents}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Capa, Robert}}
[[Category:1913 births]]
[[Category:1954 deaths]]
[[Category:20th-century Hungarian Jews]]
[[Category:Photographers from Budapest]]
[[Category:American people of Hungarian-Jewish descent]]
[[Category:American photojournalists]]
[[Category:American war photographers]]
[[Category:Hungarian emigrants to the United States]]
[[Category:Hungarian expatriates in France]]
[[Category:Hungarian photojournalists]]
[[Category:Magnum photographers]]
[[Category:Jewish American journalists]]
[[Category:Social documentary photographers]]
[[Category:Spanish Civil War photographers]]
[[Category:Vietnam War photographers]]
[[Category:War photographers killed while covering military conflicts]]
[[Category:World War II photographers]]
[[Category:Photography in China]]
[[Category:Recipients of the Medal of Freedom]]
[[Category:Landmine victims]]
[[Category:Deaths by explosive device]]