André Kertész

Kertész, André (kertesh') [key], 1894–1985, American photographer, b. Budapest. His black-and-white modernist photographs often capture small, lyrical, and emotionally resonant moments while also formally exploiting the play of light and shadow, pattern, and depth of space. Kertész became a professional photographer after emigrating (1925) from Hungary to Paris and subsequently purchased a 35-mm camera, which allowed him to photograph everyday events on the Parisian streets unobtrusively.