Exhibitions

A Georgian Journal - Robert Capa in Georgia

1947

            “A Georgian Journal - Robert Capa in Georgia” is a photo series shot by the renown Hungarian photographer in 1947 when Capa and his friend, American writer John Steinbeck, visited 3 of the former Soviet Republics: Russia, Ukraine and Georgia. This journey resulted in John Steinbeck’s book, "Russian Journey," which was illustrated with Robert Capa's photographs and published in 1948.

            Capa and Steinbeck first met each other in Algeria in 1943, where they shared the same hotel room while waiting with a group of Italian journalists for the allied invasion to the mainland. In 1947, Capa and Steinbeck met again in New York and their wartime acquaintance transformed into a friendship.

            When Steinbeck told Capa about his desire to visit the USSR, Capa immediately proposed they should journey together and publish a book with his photos. "We decided to become the trouble-seeking fogeyish Don Quixote and Sancho Panza,” Steinbeck wrote, “in order to fight against the modern wind mills behind the iron curtain using our pens, lances and photo-cameras."

The “Russian Journal” was published immediately in USA, where critics rebuked it for being pro-Soviet. In the Soviet Union, however, the book was considered anti-Soviet and would not get translated and published for nearly another 40 years.

            Robert Capa’s photographs of Georgia were first printed and exhibited in Tbilisi in 2003 with the financial support of Mamuka Khazaradze and the participation of the US Embassy in Georgia.  The exhibition was coordinated from New York by Robert Capa's brother, Cornel, who was also a photographer. To honor the successful exhibition in Tbilisi, Cornel Capa bestowed this series of photographs to Georgia where they have been kept in the collection of TBC Bank.

            To commemorate the 60th anniversary of Robert Capa’s death, Tbilisi Photo Festival is presenting “A Georgian Journal - Robert Capa in Georgia."