David Seymour (Chim)
Biography
David Seymour, CHIM, legendary photojournalist and co-founder of Magnum Photos, produced some of the most memorable photos of the 20th century. Born in Warsaw, Poland, he studied graphic arts in Leipzig, and then turned to photography in 1933 during the continuation of his studies at the Sorbonne in Paris. He covered many important political events for leading magazines including Life, beginning with the Spanish Civil War. At the outbreak of World War II he made his way to New York. During the war he served as a photo-interpreter with the U.S. Air Force in Europe. In 1947, CHIM co-founded Magnum, the international photojournalists’ cooperative, with his friends Robert Capa, Henri Cartier-Bresson, George Rodger and William Vandivert. His postwar series of photographs of the physically and spiritually maimed “Children of Europe” attracted worldwide attention, was published in a book by UNESCO, and became part of the posthumous exhibit, “CHIM’s Children.” The sympathetic and compassionate portraits of these small victims of war led a friend to note that to CHIM, wars were an enormous crime against children. Fluent in several languages, with deep affinities for many countries and peoples, CHIM was truly international. Among his many photographic essays are outstanding portraits of Audrey Hepburn and Pablo Picasso. CHIM was killed at Suez, while photographing for Newsweek, by an Egyptian machine-gunner in 1956, four days after the Armistice was signed.
– Ben Shneiderman and Helen Sarid, nephew and niece of David SeymourExhibitions
Recent:
ISREALITIES: Seven Photographic Journeys – Jewish Museum of Basel, Switzerland, March – July 2019
Chim (David Seymour) – Legendary Photojournalist – Amsterdam, The Netherlands, October 2018 – March 2019
Framing Community: 1947-Present – New York, New York, October 2017
Capturing History: The Photography of Chim – Tel Aviv, Israel, March 2017 – July 2018
Children’s World – Magnum Print Room, London, November 2016 – January 2017
D17 Gallery – Art Market, Budapest, Hungary, October 2016
“Le Front Populaire” at City Hall, Paris, May – July 2016
Citizen of the World – Lodz Fotofestival, Poland, June 2016
2011 to 2015:
La Nascita di Magnum, Cremona/Museo de Violino, October 31st – February 8th, 2015
InVisible Scars – Children and War in the Photos of David “CHIM” Seymour, The Philip Merrill College of Journalism, Gaylord Library, opened November 12, 2013
David Seymour: Retrospective, April 3-September 14, 2014, Palazzo Reale – Turin, Italy
The Mexican Suitcase, Museo San Ildefonso, Mexico City, Mexico, October 8, 2013–February 9, 2014
David Seymour (CHIM): A Celebration of Chim, Leica Gallery, Washington, DC, September 7 – late October, 2013
La Valise Mexicaine, Musée d’art et d’histoire du Judaïsme, Paris, France, February 27 – June 30, 2013
We Went Back: Photographs from Europe 1933-1956 by CHIM, January 18-May 5, 2013, International Center of Photography, 1133 Avenue of the Americas at 43rd Street, New York, NY 10036 +1- 212.857.0000 www.icp.org
An exhibition co-hosted by Galerie Walter Keller, Zurich, and Galerie ° CLAIR, Saint-Paul de Vence, Anna-Patricia Kahn.Location:Galerie Walter Keller, Oberdorfstrasse 2, 8001 Zurich, Opening: February 4, 2013, 18:30, Duration: February 7 – March 30, Th + Fr 12:00 – 18:00, Sa 12:00 – 17:00.
CHIM Rediscovered / CHIM retrouvé, December 22, 2012 – January 27, 2013, CLAIR Galerie, 1, rue de la Tour, 06570 St. Paul de Vence, Nice, France +33 664 757 789
CHIM/Gamboa Exhibition: The Mexican Connection, at El Centro de la Imagen, Mexico City, December 9, 2010 – March 6, 2011, Information in Spanish, plus 9 minute video tour of the exhibit opening.
CHIM retrospective at the Jewish Museum in Brussels – October 29 to February 27, 2011
2006 to 2010:
The Mexican Suitcase, ICP Museum – September 24, 2010 – January 9, 2011
DeYoung Museum (Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco)CHIM: The Photography of David Seymour (1911 – 1956) September 29, 2007 – February 24, 2008, Includes video tour of exhibit by curator Robert Johnson, Online exhibit shows all 77 prints, Press here for photos from the opening
Photographs by David Seymour (Selections from George Eastman House) May 11 – September 9, 2007, International Center of Photography, New York
Reflections from the Heart, is an unprecedented exhibition, on view January 20, 2007 – Sunday, April 22, 2007 at the George Eastman House
Albin O. Kuhn Library Gallery Presents: Reflections from the Heart, September 11 – December 10, 2006
Corcoran Gallery of Art exhibit “Reflections from the Heart” (Mar-June 2006)
Susan Stamberg review Corcoran show on National Public Radio (Mar 23, 2006)
Menachem Wecker reviews CHIM’s work in Forward (Feb 10, 2006)
2005 and earlier:
“Close Enough” exhibit in 1999 at Art Gallery of the University of Maryland, College Park.
Curator Terry Gips writes about CHIM for “Close Enough” exhibit 1999 at Art Gallery of the University of Maryland, College Park
CHIM: The Photos of David Seymour exhibit in 1996 at the International Center of Photography (ICP), New York. ICP’s collections contain a large archive of vintage CHIM materials. Their major retrospective exhibit led to an extensive website. ICP also presents a web biography of CHIM
“Chim’s Children: Photographs by David Seymour” exhibit in 1957 at the Art Institute of Chicago
Showing 1–12 of 13 artworks
Complete list of works
David Seymour (Chim)
Little boy, wearing a U.S. Navy sailors suit, lighting a candle during a candle ceremony, Achusam, Israel, 1954
15 x 23 cm gelatin silver print $1,800.00
David Seymour (Chim)
Arturo Toscanini in his home, Milan, Italy, 1954
19.5 x 29.5 cm gelatin silver print $1,800.00
David Seymour (Chim)
Arturo Toscanini in his Milan home, 1954
24.8 x 16.5 cm gelatin silver print $1,800.00
David Seymour (Chim)
Watch on the border, Israel, 1953
35.6 x 27.9 cm silver gelatin print $2,800.00
David Seymour (Chim)
Wedding under an improvised wedding canopy made with guns and pitchforks, Israel, 1952
20.4 x 29.4 cm Framed: 34 x 40 cm silver gelatin print $1,800.00
David Seymour (Chim)
First child born, Alma, Israel, 1951
20.4 x 30.7 cm Framed: 27.9 x 35.6 cm silver gelatin print $1,800.00
David Seymour (Chim)
Independence Day parade, Tel Aviv, Israel, c. 1952
29 x 20 cm gelatin silver print $1,800.00
David Seymour (Chim)
Early in the morning a working party leaves the camp for the fields, Israel
18 x 25 cm gelatin silver print $1,800.00
David Seymour (Chim)
Jezreel Valley, Israel
18 x 25 cm gelatin silver print $1,800.00