Robert Frank, born in Zurich in 1924, left Switzerland in 1947 and emigrated to the United States, which was a symbol of freedom. Disappointed by the omnipresent materialism, he returned to Europe in 1949.
His numerous trips took him to South America, Spain, England and Paris. In 1951, he met Robert Delpire who quickly published some of his circus photographs in an issue of NEUF and soon after devoted an entire issue of the magazine to his work in South America.
The photographer returned to the United States in 1953 and won a Guggenheim Fellowship to document the American society. The result, The Americans, published by Delpire in 1958, shook up the history of documentary photography and the photographic book.
In the late 1950s, Robert Frank became a committed filmmaker. He died in 2019.
Robert Frank and Robert Delpire in Paris. © Sarah Moon
