Children Scavenging Unburned Coal, Beijing, China

1948

Henri Cartier-Bresson

Associated Names
Henri Cartier-Bresson

Artist, French, 1908 - 2004

Three individuals captured from the knees up, standing outdoors. The person in the foreground is positioned slightly to the left, holding a basket close to his body. His face is partially obscured by a stick or piece of straw in his mouth. He wears a cap and has a weathered face. Behind him, another person is partially visible, with a faint smile and a cap, facing slightly to the side. The third person, on the right, is turned slightly to the side and is carrying a large woven basket on their back. This person has a more open expression with their mouth slightly open and wears a hat wrapped in cloth. Each person is dressed in layered, rough-textured clothing. The background shows a tree and blurred structures, giving an impression of an outdoor setting with faded buildings in the distance.
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Artwork overview

  • Medium

    gelatin silver print

  • Credit Line

    Gift of Gary Davis

  • Dimensions

    image: 23.9 × 16.5 cm (9 7/16 × 6 1/2 in.)

  • Accession Number

    2013.145.1

Artwork history & notes

Provenance

(Howard Greenberg Gallery, New York); Gary Davis, Greenwich, CT, purchased 2002; gift to NGA, 2013.

Associated Names

Inscriptions

on verso, stamped, upper left in black ink with blue pencil underlining: PEIPING ESSAY 48; by unknown hand, center in graphite: 76 / 264 /3; stamped, perpendicular, upper right in black ink: DEC 22 1948; center in graphite: children with scraps / of unburned coal they / have scavenged; stamped, lower right in black ink: LIFE PHOTO / BY / Bresson [artist's name in graphite]; lower center in blue pencil: x POVERTY / x CHILDREN - CHINESE - BOYS; stamped, perpendicular, lower left in blue ink: 28316-E [letter in blue pencil]; lower center in graphite: PF49187 (GD-TL-266) GDC-127

Wikidata ID

Q64155009

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