Snake and Mouse, New York

late 1961

Breaks his contract with Condé Nast

Toward the end of 1961, after a minor dispute, he breaks his contract with Condé Nast Publishing and starts doing his own work again; this begins the “International period” in which he gains worldwide recognition. During these years he produces a number of new books and recovers some of the negatives he had left in France decades before.

1962

Exhibitions in New York and Venice

His photographs are shown at Long Island University, his first exhibition since the Chicago show, and in Venice.

1963

A gold medal at the Venice Biennale; a show in Paris

He is one of the invited artists of the IV Mostra Biennale Internazionale della Fotografia in Venice and is awarded a gold medal for his dedication to the photographic industry; later in 1963 his work is shown in Paris at the Bibliothèque nationale de France. He later visits Argentina to see his younger brother Jenő for the first time in years.

1964

A solo show at MoMA under John Szarkowski

Soon after John Szarkowski becomes photography director at the Museum of Modern Art he features Kertész in a solo show; with his work critically acclaimed, Kertész gains recognition in the photographic world as an important artist, and his photographs go on to be shown in exhibitions throughout the world, even into his early nineties.

1977

His wife Elizabeth dies

Elizabeth, who had created and run a successful cosmetic business for years, dies of cancer; to deal with the loss, Kertész falls back on his new network of friends, often visiting them to talk. By this time he has learned basic English and speaks what his friends call “Kertészian”, a mixture of Hungarian, English and French.

24 June 1977 – 2 October 1977

Exhibition: Documenta 6