Henri Cartier-Bresson (French, 1908-2004). Shanghai, China, 1949. Gelatin silver print, printed c. 1949. Various notatio...

Description

Henri Cartier-Bresson (French, 1908-2004)
Shanghai, China, 1949
Gelatin silver print, printed c. 1949. Various notations in pencil, stamped Chine 1949, Cartier-Bresson/ Magnum stamps and affixed typed caption label, verso. Accompanied by a Certificate of Authenticity, signed by Martine Franck Cartier-Bresson and numbered 031008/3 in pencil.
image/ sheet: 10 x 6-1/2 inches (25.4 x 16.5 cm)

PROVENANCE:
Acquired directly from the artist.

The typed caption label reads:
"Europeans Leave Shanghai: At the Offices of the American President shipping line is a desk where each person leaving Shanghai on the U.S.S. Gordon could go to draw $100. A man who does not look as if he will be a passenger, peers in at the window. The manager of the shipping line was constantly stopped in the streets by people who wanted to get on the ship; American citizens had priority."

The label refers to the exodus of Americans and Europeans from Shanghai in 1949 because of the imminent Communist Revolution and the threat of persecution or execution by the Chinese Communist Party to those who remained.


More information about Henri Cartier-Bresson. See also: Cartier-Bresson, Henri, Bresson, Henri Cartier Artist.

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