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Henri Cartier-Bresson (1908-2004); Selected Images of Cuba (for 'LIFE' Magazine); image 1
Henri Cartier-Bresson (1908-2004); Selected Images of Cuba (for 'LIFE' Magazine); image 2
Henri Cartier-Bresson (1908-2004); Selected Images of Cuba (for 'LIFE' Magazine); image 3
Henri Cartier-Bresson (1908-2004); Selected Images of Cuba (for 'LIFE' Magazine); image 4
Henri Cartier-Bresson (1908-2004); Selected Images of Cuba (for 'LIFE' Magazine); image 5
Henri Cartier-Bresson (1908-2004); Selected Images of Cuba (for 'LIFE' Magazine); image 6
Henri Cartier-Bresson (1908-2004); Selected Images of Cuba (for 'LIFE' Magazine); image 7
Henri Cartier-Bresson (1908-2004); Selected Images of Cuba (for 'LIFE' Magazine); image 8
Henri Cartier-Bresson (1908-2004); Selected Images of Cuba (for 'LIFE' Magazine); image 9
Henri Cartier-Bresson (1908-2004); Selected Images of Cuba (for 'LIFE' Magazine); image 10
Henri Cartier-Bresson (1908-2004); Selected Images of Cuba (for 'LIFE' Magazine); image 11
Henri Cartier-Bresson (1908-2004); Selected Images of Cuba (for 'LIFE' Magazine); image 12
Henri Cartier-Bresson (1908-2004); Selected Images of Cuba (for 'LIFE' Magazine); image 13
Henri Cartier-Bresson (1908-2004); Selected Images of Cuba (for 'LIFE' Magazine); image 14
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Henri Cartier-Bresson (1908-2004); Selected Images of Cuba (for 'LIFE' Magazine); image 16
Henri Cartier-Bresson (1908-2004); Selected Images of Cuba (for 'LIFE' Magazine); image 17
Henri Cartier-Bresson (1908-2004); Selected Images of Cuba (for 'LIFE' Magazine); image 18
Henri Cartier-Bresson (1908-2004); Selected Images of Cuba (for 'LIFE' Magazine); image 19
Henri Cartier-Bresson (1908-2004); Selected Images of Cuba (for 'LIFE' Magazine); image 20
Henri Cartier-Bresson (1908-2004); Selected Images of Cuba (for 'LIFE' Magazine); image 21
Henri Cartier-Bresson (1908-2004); Selected Images of Cuba (for 'LIFE' Magazine); image 22
Henri Cartier-Bresson (1908-2004); Selected Images of Cuba (for 'LIFE' Magazine); image 23
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Lot 158

Henri Cartier-Bresson
(1908-2004)
Selected Images of Cuba (for 'LIFE' Magazine)

1 – 10 October 2025, 12:00 EDT
Online, New York

Sold for US$3,072 inc. premium

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Henri Cartier-Bresson (1908-2004)

Selected Images of Cuba (for 'LIFE' Magazine), 1963
12 gelatin silver prints; each with various credit stamps, including the photographer's Magnum / 15 West 47th Street stamp, the Magnum Photo Library Print stamp, the photographer's Magnum 1963 copyright stamp, and/or the photographer's Magnum undated copyright stamp, annotations in pencil and/or ink in various hands, and some with a typed caption label, all on the reverse.
the largest 9 3/4 x 14 in. (24.8 x 35.6 cm.) or the reverse
sheet the largest 11 x 14 in. (27.9 x 35.6 cm.) or the reverse

Footnotes

Provenance
House Sale, North Bergen, New Jersey
Acquired from the above by the present owner circa 2005

Literature
'This is Castro's Cuba Seen Face to Face', LIFE magazine, 15 March 1963, pp. 28-41
Peter Galassi, Henri Cartier-Bresson: The Modern Century (New York: The Museum of Modern Art, 2010), p. 349

Note
The travel chronology in Peter Galassi's exhibition catalogue Henri Cartier-Bresson: The Modern Century notes that the Magnum photographer traveled to Cuba on assignment for LIFE magazine from 23 January to 26 February, 1963. Americans were not permitted to visit Cuba at that time, but Cartier-Bresson's European passport allowed him entry. He was joined by fellow photographer René Burri, who was on assignment for Look magazine.

Their month-long itinerary began and ended in Havana. During the bulk of their trip, they journeyed to many parts of the country to document local businesses, public spaces, restaurants, a bull-breeding estate, a sugar refinery, a tractor center, and many other industrial sites.

The 15 March 1963 issue of LIFE featured an image of Fidel Castro on the cover, along with teaser 'Inside Castro's Cuba / A Penetrating Report in Pictures by Henri Cartier-Bresson'. Within the magazine, the 14-page article titled 'This is Castro's Cuba Seen Face to Face' was accompanied by 23 of Cartier-Bresson's photographs.

Three of the 12 vintage press prints included in this lot were published in the LIFE article. The reverses of the prints bear witness to Cartier-Bresson's jam-packed schedule, with various Magnum credit stamps, typed labels, and annotations, complete with his specific roll (8189-8261) and negative numbers written on each print.

Additional information

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