This enigmatic snapshot was donated by the art gallery Knoedler (part of their awning is visible at right). The subject is the French general and commander of the Allied Forces during World War I caught "on-the-fly" outside a waiting limousine on a New York sidewalk. With the advent of small roll-film "detective" cameras like the Graflex, photographers could creep up on their quarry, frame and focus the image until the pushing the trigger (as opposed to the elaborate preparations required of the tripod-bound view camera), and scurry off.
