The L, New York

15 October 1936

Emigrates to New York

Magazines emphasise political stories and stop publishing Kertész for his apolitical subjects; with commissions dropping and persecution of Jews increasing, he and Elizabeth decide to move, which may have saved his life, as four years later France would fall under Nazi occupation. They board the SS Washington and arrive in New York on 15 October 1936, living at the Beaux Arts Hotel in Greenwich Village; deprived of his artist friends, struggling with English and among Americans who reject having their photos taken on the street, he goes through a period he later calls the “absolute tragedy”.

December 1937

His first solo show in New York

In December 1937 Kertész has his first solo show in New York, at the PM Gallery.

1941

Designated enemy aliens

Because of the war the Kertész couple are designated enemy aliens (Hungary is fighting on the side of the Axis powers); he is not permitted to photograph outdoors or to have any project related to national security. Trying to avoid trouble, since Elizabeth has started a cosmetics company, Cosmia Laboratories, he ceases commissioned work and essentially disappears from the photographic world for three years.

1946

A solo exhibition at the Art Institute of Chicago

A solo exhibition at the Art Institute of Chicago features photographs from his Day of Paris series; Kertész later calls it one of his greatest times in the United States and says it was the first time he felt he received positive reviews.

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.