timelightbox:

American soldiers landing on Omaha Beach, D-Day, Normandy, France, June 6, 1944.  Robert Capa—©International Center of Photography/Magnum Photos

As we posted earlier today, this evening Christie’s held its first-ever auction of contemporary photojournalism prints at its New York City auction house. The event, which will be hosted by news anchor Christiane Amanpour, will benefit the family of the late Anton Hammerl, a photographer who was killed in Libya last April.

The auction, says David Brabyn, one of the organizers, demonstrates the sense of community among photographers who put themselves at risk for their work. “It’s been quite highlighted recently,” he says, “after all the deaths of reporters, both photographers and print.”

But one of the most important prints up for bid was not a donation from someone in that community. Robert Capa’s photograph of American soldiers landing in France on D-Day is perhaps the most familiar picture in the bunch; Capa was killed by a land mine in 1954. The donation comes from the International Center of Photography, where his work is archived. (The winning bid will also include a personal tour of his archive.) ICP was founded by Capa’s brother, Cornell Capa, and the print comes from his personal collection.

Read more about this image and the auction here.

(via life)

War Is Over ?

The Bird is the word.

life:

April 30, 1945: Hitler commits suicide.

In the spring of 1945, LIFE’s William Vandivert was one of the first photographers to document the ruins of Berlin and the burned-out bunker beneath the city where Hitler and Eva Braun spent their final hours

In his typed notes to his editors in New York, Vandivert described in detail what he saw. For example, of the sixth slide in this gallery he wrote:

“Pix of [correspondents] looking at sofa where Hitler and Eva shot themselves. Note bloodstains on arm of soaf [sic] where Eva bled. She was seated at far end … Hitler sat in middle and fell forward, did not bleed on sofa. This is in Hitler’s sitting room.”

Remarkable stuff — but, it turns out, only about half right. Historians are now quite certain that Braun actually committed suicide by biting a cyanide capsule, rather than by gunshot — meaning that the blood stains on the couch might well be Hitler’s, and not Eva Braun’s, after all.

Read more here.

CLASHH

nevver:

Enough Already

Lincoln and McClellan

Alexander Gardener photographed Lincoln and General McClellan on the Antietam battlefield, October 1862. Notice how much taller Lincoln is compared to McClellan and his staff, and also notice McClellan’s strutting pose. McClellan styled himself the savior of the nation, but a couple of weeks after this picture was taken—and more than a month after the battle—Lincoln fired McClellan for good.

N.Y. Nationals and New Bedford Whalers at Polo Grounds, N.Y. ca. 1928

(via thebeautifulgameblog)