André Kertész Melancholic Tulip, 1939 Gelatin silver print After agreeing to a work contract with the Keystone Agency In 1936, Kertész moved to New York in 1936. Unhappily confined to a studio, he canceled the contract just a year later. Unfortunately, the progress of the war made his return to Paris impossible. Kertész was caught in a personal and professional quagmire, and he began to interpret the melancholy and disillusionment he felt through his camera and saw the city as emblematic of his feelings. By 1952 Kertesz and his wife Elizabeth were able to afford the purchase of an apartment on the 12th floor of 2 Fifth Avenue overlooking Washington Square Park. For Kertesz, this provided grounding and a sense of home for the first time since moving to New York as the Greenwich Village neighborhood reminded him of Paris. It was during this first year that he created some of his iconic images of Washington Square Park from the view of his window. He also began to experiment with small figurines, which he referred to as sun sculptures, waiting for the sunlight to transform and arrange the still life.
