Martin Munkácsi was a genius Hungarian photographer who worked in Germany and America during the 1930s.He captivated sports, entertainment, politics and street life in his photographs. Munkacsi made his reputation doing reportage, often from exotic locations, in German photo weeklies, where his early photographs were published.
The energetic Munkacsi turned his talents to fashion photography, taking pictures of models on the beach in 1933. Those pictures contributed to the revolution of fashion photography with their informality and vitality. Carmel Snow, the editor of Harper’s Bazaar, offered him a contract soon after, and he left for New York where he became famous and rich.
Munkácsi died of a heart attack at Randall’s Island in New York City after suffering a poor life and being the subject of controversy. His archives were rejected by several universities and museums, and they were scattered around the globe. Berlin’s Ullstein Archives and Hamburg’s F. C. Gundlach collection are home to two of the largest collections of Munkácsi’s work.
