Everything Is Photograph: The Book Launch of a Biography of André Kertész

Widely regarded as a visionary of modern photography, Hungarian-born André Kertész (born Andor Kertész) left an indelible mark on the visual language of the 20th century. Although his work has long been celebrated internationally—including in the United States—remarkably, more than four decades passed after his death before a comprehensive English-language biography worthy of his legacy was published.

That long-awaited moment has now arrived.

Following years of meticulous research, acclaimed American biographer Patricia Albers brings Kertész’s life and artistic journey into focus in her new book, Everything Is Photograph: A Life of André Kertész. This important publication offers fresh insight into the photographer’s inner world, creative vision, and enduring influence.

To celebrate this milestone, the Hungarian Cultural Center, Liszt Institute New York will host a special book launch event on Monday, May 11 at 6:30 PM at the Consulate General of Hungary in New York.

The program will feature an approx. 45-minute conversation and presentation with author Patricia Albers and György Németh, Visiting Scholar at Quinnipiac University. Together, they will explore the fascinating circumstances behind the creation of the biography, as well as the life, work, and artistic legacy of Kertész.

The presentation will be followed by a Q&A session, offering the audience a unique opportunity to engage directly with the speakers. The evening will conclude with a book signing by the author.

This event forms part of the Hungarian Cultural Center’s ongoing commitment to showcasing the achievements of Hungarian-born photographers who made their mark in the United States.

Recent highlights of this thematic focus have included:

• coverage and an interview related to a major photography exhibition Kertész, Moholy-Nagy, Capa… / Hungarian Photographers in America (1914-1989) at the Hungarian National Museum between April 6 and August 25, 2024
  
• the showcase of Kertész & Brassaï: Visions of 1930s Paris - The Francis F. Dobo Collection of Hungarian Photography at the Consulate General in New York on December 5, 2024,
  
• and now, the launch of Patricia Albers’ biography on May 11, 2026 in the very city that Kertész once called home.

Across these programs, one figure continues to reappear—André Kertész—whose work remains as relevant and compelling today as ever.

Despite his international acclaim, Kertész has long remained something of a mystery in the United States. This very paradox drew Patricia Albers to her subject.

Her fascination began decades ago, when she encountered Czech art historian Anna Fárová’s 1966 monograph on Kertész. Struck by the originality and emotional depth of his images—so distinct from the dominant photographic styles in America—Albers resolved to one day explore his life more deeply.

After completing her biography of painter Joan Mitchell, she turned her full attention to Kertész. What followed was an ambitious and, at times, risky undertaking: researching a figure whose personal life was little documented, and whose Hungarian cultural background was initially unfamiliar to her.

With the invaluable support of Hungarian and Hungarian-American collaborators—who helped translate Kertész’s diaries and correspondence with his brothers—Albers gradually pieced together a portrait of the artist not only as a photographer, but as a man shaped by memory, place, and culture.

Albers’ research revealed just how profoundly Kertész’s Hungarian upbringing influenced his artistic vision. The vibrant intellectual and cultural life of pre–World War I Budapest—its cafés, literary circles, theaters, and press—formed the backdrop of his early years. Even his family life reflected this environment; his father owned a café, placing Kertész at the heart of a dynamic social and artistic milieu of the era.

This background, combined with an early awareness of social inequality, informed what one writer famously described as Kertész’s role as “the great democrat of modern photography.” His lens consistently turned toward everyday people and intimate, often overlooked moments of life.

Kertész himself once offered a key to understanding his work: “If you want to understand my work, read Endre Ady.”

The connection is striking. Like Ady, Kertész was drawn to Paris, shared a deeply romantic sensibility, and embraced both modernity and tradition while forging an independent creative path. Both artists placed ordinary people at the center of their vision—and both rejected convention in favor of authenticity.

We warmly invite you to this special evening celebrating one of US’s most influential artists and the remarkable new biography that brings his story to life.

📍 Location: Consulate General of Hungary in New York

📅 Date: Monday, May 11

🕕 Time: 6:30 PM

Copies of Everything Is Photograph: A Life of André Kertész will be available for signing. To secure your copy in advance, you can purchase the book from:

• Other Press (publisher):
• Bookshop.org:
• Barnes & Noble:  
• Amazon:

The book is also available at select New York bookstores, including Strand Bookstore, Rizzoli Bookstore, and 192 Books.

Join us as we rediscover the life and legacy of André Kertész—a visionary who transformed the way we see the world, and whose vision continues to resonate across generations. 📸✨

Source: An in-depth interview by György Németh, Visiting Scholar at Quinnipiac University, with author Patricia Albers (Punkt.hu, January 27, 2026).

The full interview is available here:

https://punkt.hu/en/2026/01/27/the-great-democrat-of-modern-photography-a-conversation-with-patricia-albers-author-of-the-latest-kertesz-biography/

About André Kertész:

Source of the Photo: Madelyn Jordon Fine Art.com

Born in 1894 in Budapest as Andor Kertész, André Kertész became one of the most influential pioneers of modern photography. Raised in Hungary and shaped by the rich cultural life of early 20th-century Budapest, he developed a deeply personal visual language that focused on everyday moments, poetic composition, and human intimacy.

In the 1920s, Kertész moved to Paris, where he became part of a vibrant circle of Hungarian émigré artists, including Brassaï and Ylla, and formed connections with leading figures of the European avant-garde. His innovative approach to composition and storytelling had a profound impact on the development of modern photography.

In 1936, he emigrated to New York, where he continued to work and live for the rest of his life. Although initially underrecognized in the United States, his work later gained widespread acclaim, influencing generations of photographers.

Often described as “the great democrat of modern photography,” Kertész captured the quiet poetry of daily life with sensitivity and originality, leaving behind a legacy that continues to shape the way we see the world. He was a pioneer of Leica photography and subjective photojournalism, his emotionally rich images reshaped how we see—and feel—the world.

About the Author, Patricia Albers:

Source of the Photo: Punkt.hu

Patricia Albers is a San Francisco Bay Area–based writer, editor, art historian, and long-time admirer of André Kertész. She holds a BA in Studio Art from the University of Iowa, an MA in French from Middlebury College, and an MA in Art History from San Francisco State University.

Albers’s first book, Shadows, Fire, Snow: The Life of Tina Modotti, emerged from her remarkable discovery of Modotti’s photographs in an Oregon attic. She later co-curated the exhibition Tina Modotti and the Mexican Renaissance, which toured Europe and was hailed by the French press as “the first great Modotti exhibition in Europe.” She is also the author of Joan Mitchell, Lady Painter: A Life, the acclaimed first biography of the abstract expressionist painter.

Her essays, reviews, and features have appeared widely in museum catalogues and publications, and she has served as a panelist for the National Endowment for the Humanities and as a juror for the Biographers International Plutarch Award.

About György Német:

Source of the Photo: AHEA.net

György Németh, currently a Visiting scholar at Quinnipiac University, studied at the University of Pécs. He is a freelance academic researcher studying the history of photography. Much of his work over the past several years has been on behalf of The Hungarian House of Photography in Budapest. His area of interest has focused on researching the diaspora of notable Twentieth Century Hungarian émigré photographers and their networks of friends and associates. His main area of interest has centered upon the Hungarian photographers who were working in 1930s Paris – including André Kertész, Brassaï, Ylla, Nora Dumas and Ergy Landau – and their subsequent career paths throughout the remainder of their lives.

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