Gerda Taro

Republican militiawoman training on the beach, outside Barcelona, August 1936 - by Gerda Taro


California seems half the world away from New York, especially if you're me when there's a fantastic exhibition that is not slated to travel west. Pictured is the catalog from The International Center of Photography for a 2008 exhibition of Gerda Taro. The cover image is especially compelling; although the woman is wearing fashionable shoes, she doesn't appear to be frivolously posing with a gun, she looks resolute and brave.

Gerda Taro (1910-1937) was the first woman photojournalist to photograph in the heat of battle from the front lines of the Spanish Civil War. The catalog richly illustrates the dynamic composition and emotional intensity of her work, and commemorates a life that ended abruptly when she died covering a battle at the age of 26.