Beach (1930s)

Károly Escher is one of the outstanding figures in the history of Hungarian photography. He was invited by Rudolf Balogh and Ernő Mihályfi to work as a photojournalist for the Est Lapok in 1928, after Márton Munkácsi had signed a contract to work in Berlin. Escher was at the disposal of his paper 24 hours a day, moving with incredible diligence and universal confidence on a wide variety of subjects. He photographed almost all the public figures of his time, capturing current political, social and cultural events. He was present with his camera in the Parliament, at the private celebrations of the Horthy family, in the slums, theatres, sports grounds and beaches. He also photographed gangland scenes, courtroom and disaster scenes, raids, evictions, artist portraits, fashion shoots, brilliant animal shots and atmospheric cityscapes. He was a great observer who avoided staging, never interfering with the subject, capturing its natural moments. He had a great sense for finding the expressive moment, capturing the dramatic situation with a captivating suggestiveness.