David Seymour (photographer)


David Seymour, or Chim, was a Polish photographer and photojournalist.
Chim was known for his images from the Spanish Civil War, for co-founding Magnum Photos with Henri Cartier-Bresson, Robert Capa and George Rodger, and for his project "Children of War" with UNICEF that captured the plight of children in the aftermath of World War II.
He became president of Magnum after Capa's death in 1954 and held this post until his own death in 1956 by Egyptian machinegun fire in the aftermath of the Suez crisis.

Early life

Chim was born to Polish Jewish parents in Warsaw in 1911. David had a sister, Eileen, who was three years older. Their parents were Regina and Benjamin Szymin, a respected publisher of Yiddish and Hebrew books. In 1914 Chim and his parents emigrated to Odessa just as World War I had begun. In 1919 they returned to Warsaw. Chim studied graphic arts in Leipzig and then traveled to Paris to study at the Sorbonne.

Career

It was while Chim was studying at the Sorbonne in Paris that he became interested in photography. He began working as a freelance journalist in 1933. His first "credited" published photograph appeared in 1934 in the magazine Regards.
Between 1936 and 1938 Chim covered the Spanish Civil War and other international political events. In February 1935 Chim was sent to Spain by Regards to report on crucial issues there. Twenty five of his stories on Spain ended up being published in Regards.
In 1939 he covered the Loyalist Spanish war refugees on the S.S. Sinaia to Mexico and then later in the year he arrived in the United States. Chim was in New York City when World War II broke out in Europe when Nazi Germany invaded Poland, Chim's birthplace. In 1940 he enlisted in the United States Army, serving in Europe as a photo interpreter during the war. In 1942 he became a naturalized citizen of the United States, the same year that his parents were killed by the Nazis. Chim photographed for Life, along with Look, Paris-Match and Regards.
In 1948 he received a commission through UNICEF and traveled to Austria, Hungary, Italy, Poland and Germany to document the plight of World War II refugee children. Inge Bondi, Chim scholar, said:
Chim's heart had always gone out to children, and they reacted to him with complete acceptance. They seemed oblivious of him, but he noticed every little movement, every little pain, every little pleasure. There is no artifice, no bravura of lighting expertise in Chim's photographs of the children. They speak simply from his pictures, as if alive. This intellectual, so adept at analyzing the most complex political situations, so comfortable photographing heads of state, produced his greatest photographs to help children in need.

Between 1949 and 1955 Chim travelled extensively throughout Europe and Israel, fulfilling assignments for major publications in Europe and the United States. Edward Steichen included his imagery, including his simple but eloquent picture of the worn hands of an older worker clutching a dip-pen to practice the letter 'a', in MoMA's 1955 world-touring The Family of Man, seen by 9 million visitors.

Magnum Photos

In 1947, Chim co-founded the Magnum Photos photography cooperative, together with Robert Capa and Henri Cartier-Bresson, whom he had befriended in Paris in the 1930s. As Inge Bondi, Chim scholar, stated:
Photojournalism was about to enter a golden decade. Television was not yet available to broadcast world events, and editors and the public were eager for news, from which they had been cut off during the fascist years and war years.

After Capa's death in 1954, Chim became president of Magnum Photos. He held that post until his death on November 10, 1956.

Death

On November 10, 1956, Chim was killed while driving to photograph an exchange of wounded soldiers at El Quantara by Egyptian machinegun fire four days after the armistice of the 1956 Suez Crisis, ten days before his 45th birthday.
Chim's work remains available by way of Magnum Photos and his estate is managed by nephew Ben Shneiderman and niece Helen Sarid.

Photographic portraits

Chim's reputation for his photos of war orphans was magnified by his later work in photographing famous people of his time. These included:
Chim's work is held in the following public collections: