Robert Capa & Gerda Taro join Susan Sarandon & Tim Robbins, Ossie Davis & Ruby Dee, and Lucie & Raymond
Aubrac, in receiving one of my Valiant Valentines Awards for couples who love each other and the world, and work with each other to change the world. Robert Capa, one of the most famous, if not the most famous, war photographers of the last century, is best known for his photo Falling Soldier, which captures a shot soldier falling to his death during the Spanish Civil War. Gerda Taro, the less known photojournalist, is best known for being Capa’s artistic and romantic partner, not for her exceptional bravery and photography. The two brilliant photographers shared much in common: born Andre Friedmann, Capa, who was Jewish, fled the antisemitism of Hungary and went to Paris; born Gerda Pohorylle, the Jewish Taro escaped Germany’s antisemitism and moved to Paris, where she would meet Capa. They began collaborating artistically and Robert Capa was the name they created to sign their shared work. It was their shared love of freedom which brought the two to Spain, where they would document the Civil War– the bombed cities, the deaths and destruction– in the hopes of gathering support and raising awareness of the anti-Fascist cause and of the rising fascism, which they had known so well. Sharing a love for each other as well, they would photograph not just the war, but each other.

Many artists including Langston Hughes and Paul Robeson visited Spain; George Orwell, fought with the Republic and immortalized the Spanish Civil War through Homage to Catalonia; Ernest Hemingway was a correspondent in Spain and wrote For Whom the Bell Tolls , and he, along with actor and director Orson Welles of Citizen Cane fame, narrated The Spanish Earth, the classic documentary by Joris Ivens, a clip of which is above. And Taro and Capa used their art to make change, and risked their lives for the causes they supported. Taro was the first first female photojournalist killed in war, when she died at the age of 26. Their photographs, however, of the War and of each other, remain seven decades later. And just this year, their story inspired a joint exhibit at New York’s International Center of Photography: Gerda Taro and This Is War! Robert Capa at Work in which Taro and Capa, were united, once again.

If you’re inspired by the way Taro and Capa used photography to create beautiful images and to raise awareness about the dangers of fascism, check out WITNESS, which uses film to capture human rights abuses. If you’re already ready to watch WITNESS’s free Video for Change video or sign up for their Video Advocacy Institute. But first, here are photographs by Taro and Capa to inspire you!

Photograph of Taro, unknown artist

Photograph of Capa, Taken By Taro

Photograph of Taro at The Front, taken by Capa

famous Falling Soldier Photograph, taken by Capa

photograph of a volunteer, taken by Taro