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Kendice, 1965
Josef Koudelka (Czech, born 1938)
Gelatin silver print; 16 7/16 x 23 11/16 in. (41.7 x 60.2 cm)
Purchase, Harry Kahn Gift, The Horace W. Goldsmith Foundation Gift through Joyce and Robert Menschel, and Nancy and Edwin Marks Gift, 1995 (1995.362)
© Josef Koudelka/Magnum Photos

An insightful photographer known for his gruff honesty, Koudelka's central subject during the early years of his career in the 1960s and '70s was the plight of the Gypsies in Western Europe. This photograph is a remarkable visualization of the power of music—one of the Gypsies' greatest assets—to connect human beings; but it is an equally dynamic demonstration of Koudelka's prowess in harnessing photography to document the invisible and make permanent the ephemeral.


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  • Kendice, 1965
    Josef Koudelka (Czech, born 1938)
    Gelatin silver print; 16 7/16 x 23 11/16 in. (41.7 x 60.2 cm)
    Purchase, Harry Kahn Gift, The Horace W. Goldsmith Foundation Gift through Joyce and Robert Menschel, and Nancy and Edwin Marks Gift, 1995 (1995.362)
    © Josef Koudelka/Magnum Photos