"World’s best war photographer” on display at the Tel Aviv Museum.
By JESSICA VRAZILEK
The Tel Aviv Museum of Art presents selected works by photographer Robert Capa, once described as “the world’s best war photographer.” Capa was born into a Jewish family in Hungary in 1913 with the name André Friedmann but left Budapest at the age of 18 to work in Berlin. Capa’s career as a war photojournalist saw him witness five separate wars: the Spanish Civil War, the Second Sino-Japanese War, World War II, the 1948 Arab-Israeli War and the First Indochina War.As well as photographing frontline fighting, Capa also captured the suffering of the civilian population. He had an unparalleled eye for the destructive effect of war on the lives of ordinary people Capa spent 20 years of his life constantly on the road, visiting war-torn and conflict- ridden areas of the world. In 1954, aged only 42, Capa was killed when he stepped on a landmine while on assignment in North Vietnam.A war photographer who hated war, Capa has been quoted to have said, “the war photographer’s most fervent wish is for unemployment.” Curated by Raz Samira.Robert Capa: Photographer of Life is ongoing at the Tel Aviv Museum of Art. For more info visit www.tamuseum.org.il