Paul Strand, Young Boy, Gondeville, Charente, France, 1951 © Aperture Foundation Inc., Paul Strand Archive. Fundación MAPFRE Collections
Paul Strand, Young Boy, Gondeville, Charente, France, 1951 © Aperture Foundation Inc., Paul Strand Archive. Fundación MAPFRE Collections 
TITLE_NAME :
Paul Strand: The Balance of Forces

14/02/2023 - 23/04/2023

Fondation Henri Cartier-Bresson 
79 Rue des Archives 
 
75003 Paris

www.henricartierbresson.org/   

 
The Fondation HCB offers a new perspective on the work of American photographer Paul Strand (1890‑1976) from the collections of the Fundación MAPFRE, Madrid. While Strand is often celebrated as a pioneer of straight photography, this exhibition also addresses the deeply political dimension of his work.

Strand (1890–1976) was heir to two great traditions in photography, often presented as opposed. He had a formalist approach that sought to prove photography an art, and a social approach, which saw photography as more of a documentary instrument serving political ends. Perhaps this is explained by the fact that Alfred Stieglitz and Lewis Hine, who occupy the two poles in photography history, were both Strand’s mentors in his formative years.

The exhibition presents almost 120 prints from the collections of the Fundación MAPFRE, Madrid, the film Manhatta made by Paul Strand and Charles Sheeler in 1921 as well as several prints lent by the Centre Pompidou.