In his last years, André Kertész had a cloistered life, he was lonely, he was scared, he did not feel safe in New York, he rarely left his apartment, but his creative instinct remained unchanged. So he photographed the objects in his apartment, his own shadow and himself, mainly using Polaroid technique. He had a book of these photos entitled From My Window.
A Hungarian art-writer, who organized Kertész’ travels in Hungary as well as the building of the André Kertész House in Szigetbecse, visited him one month before his death. Using his camera, Kertész photographed a whole roll of Leica slides, which together with camera was given to the Hungarian Museum of Photography after the writer had returned to Hungary. The museum had the film developed and had Cibachrom prints made of the negatives and archived them.
After André Kertész’ death, thanks to the André and Elizabeth Kertész Foundation, about 200 objects for personal use and knick-knacks from Kertész’ Washington Square apartment were brought to Hungary. Most of these objects are known all around the world from the Kertész album, From My Window. In his apartment, Kertész photographed these small glass figures, knick-knacks that can be found in the Hungarian Museum of Photography now.
This is how the objects and the pictures taken of them have met in Kecskemét. Neither these pictures have ever been exhibited or published nor the objects have ever been displayed.
The Hungarian Museum of Photography is pleased to arrange an exhibition where insignificant objects and the photographs taken of them by Kertész could present Kertész’ genius in creating pictures and his irreproductable way of seeing the world; portaits of Kertész representing him in his apartment among the objects he photographed as well, Kertész-paraphrases by Péter Herendi.
The exhibition can be seen between June and September in the Maison Européenne de la Photographie, in Paris.