Photographer - David Seymour

Nationality: Polish
Subject of photography: portraits, photojournalist, war photographer

Life dates: November 20, 1911 – November 10, 1956
Sample of work: 

source: http://www.magnumphotos.com/C.aspx?VP3=CMS3&VF=MAGO31_10_VForm&ERID=24KL53Z58C

source: http://life.time.com/history/picturing-misery-david-seymours-children-of-europe-1948/#1

source: http://www.magnumphotos.com/C.aspx?VP3=CMS3&VF=MAGO31_10_VForm&ERID=24KL53Z58C

www.en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Seymour_(photographer)

David Seymour (born Dawid Szymin; November 20, 1911 – November 10, 1956), or Chim (pronounced shim, an abbreviation of the surname "Szymin"), was a Polish photographer and photojournalist known for his images from theSpanish Civil War, for co-founding Magnum Photos with Henri Cartier-Bresson, Robert Capa, George Rodger and William Vandivert, and for his project "Children of War" with UNICEF that captured the plight of children in the aftermath of World War II. He became president of Magnum after Capa's death in 1954 and held this post until his own death in 1956 by Egyptian machine-gun fire in the aftermath of the Suez crisis.

Early life

Chim was born to Polish Jewish parents in Warsaw in 1911. David had a sister, Eileen, who was three years older. Their parents were Regina and Benjamin Szymin, a respected publisher of Yiddish and Hebrew books. In 1914 Chim and his parents emigrated to Odessa just as World War I had begun. In 1919 they returned to Warsaw. Chim studied graphic arts in Leipzig and then traveled to Paris, France to study at the Sorbonne.


Career

It was while Chim was studying at the Sorbonne in Paris that he became interested in photography. Chim began working as a freelance journalist in 1933. His first "credited" published photograph appeared in 1934 in the magazine "Regards." Between 1936 and 1938 Chim covered the Spanish Civil War (alongside fellow colleague Robert Capa) and other international political events. In February 1935 Chim was sent to Spain by Regards to report on crucial issues there. Twenty five of his stories on Spain ended up being published in Regards. In 1939 he covered the Loyalist Spanish war refugees on the S.S. Sinai to Mexico and then later in the year he arrived in the United States. Chim was in New York when World War IIbroke out in Europe when Nazi Germany invaded Poland, Chim's birthplace. In 1940 he enlisted in the United States Army, serving in Europe as a photo interpreter during the war. In 1942 he became a "naturalized" citizen of the United States, the same year that his parents were killed by the Nazis. Chim photographed for Life, along with Look, Paris-Match and Regards. In 1948 he received a commission through UNICEF and traveled to Austria, Hungry, Italy, Poland and Germany to document the plight of World War II refugee children. Inge Bondi, Chim scholar, said: "Chim's heart had always gone out to children, and they reacted to him with complete acceptance. They seemed oblivious of him, but he noticed every little movement, every little pain, every little pleasure. There is no artifice, no bravura of lighting expertise in Chim's photographs of the children. They speak simply from his pictures, as if alive. This intellectual, so adept at analyzing the most complex political situations, so comfortable photographing heads of state, produced his greatest photographs to help children in need."  Between 1949 and 1955 Chim traveled extensively throughout Europe and Israel fulfilling assignments for major publications in Europe and the United States.Magnum Photos

In 1947, Chim co-founded the Magnum Photos photography cooperative, together with Robert Capa and Henri Cartier-Bresson, whom he had befriended in Paris in the 1930s. As Inge Bondi, Chim scholar, stated: "Photojournalism was about to enter a golden decade. Television was not yet available to broadcast world events, and editors and the public were eager for news, from which they had been cut off during the fascist years and war years." After Capa's death in 1954, Chim became president of Magnum Photos. He held that post until his death on November 10, 1956.


Death

On November 10, 1956, Chim was killed while driving to photograph an exchange of wounded soldiers at El Quantara (along with French photographer Jean Roy) by Egyptian machine-gun fire four days after the armistice of the 1956 Suez War.


Links:
www.davidseymour.com/
www.en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Seymour_(photographer)
www.magnumphotos.com/C.aspx?VP3=CMS3&VF=MAGO31_10_VForm&ERID=24KL53Z58C
www.nga.gov/feature/chim/
www.museum.icp.org/museum/collections/special/chim/?q=chim
www.museum.icp.org/mexican_suitcase/bio_chim.html
www.life.time.com/history/picturing-misery-david-seymours-children-of-europe-1948/#1
www.pinterest.com/adolfodoomy/chim-david-seymour/
www.unicef.org/emergencies/index_69785.html
www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/537289/David-Seymour

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