David Seymour (photographer)

David Seymour
David Seymour (Chim), 1954, by Elliott Erwitt.
Born	Dawid Szymin November 20, 1911 Warsaw, Poland
Died	November 10, 1956 (aged 44) Egypt
Other names	Chim
Occupation	Photographer, photo journalist

David Seymour (born Dawid Szymin; November 20, 1911 – November 10, 1956), or Chim (pronounced shim, an abbreviation of the surname "Szymin"), was a Polish photographer and photo journalist known for his images from the Spanish Civil War, for co-founding Magnum Photos with Henri Cartier-Bresson, Robert Capa, George Rodger and William Vandivert, and for his project "Children of War" with UNICEF that captured the plight of children in the aftermath of World War II. He became president of Magnum after Capa's death in 1954 and held this post until his own death in 1956 by Egyptian machine-gun fire in the aftermath of the Suez crisis.

Chim was born to Polish Jewish parents in Warsaw in 1911. David had a sister, Eileen, who was three years older. Their parents were Regina and Benjamin Szymin, a respected publisher of Yiddish and Hebrew books. In 1914 Chim and his parents emigrated to Odessa just as World War I had begun. In 1919 they returned to Warsaw. Chim studied graphic arts in Leipzig and then traveled to Paris, France to study at the Sorbonne.

It was while Chim was studying at the Sorbonne in Paris that he became interested in photography. Chim began working as a freelance journalist in 1933. His first "credited" published photograph appeared in 1934 in the magazine "Regards." Between 1936 and 1938 Chim covered the Spanish Civil War (alongside colleague Robert Capa) and other international political events. In February 1935 Chim was sent to Spain by Regards to report on crucial issues there. Twenty five of his stories on Spain ended up being published in Regards. In 1939 he covered the Loyalist Spanish war refugees on the S.S. Sinaia to Mexico and then later in the year he arrived in the United States. Chim was in New York when World War II broke out in Europe when Nazi Germany invaded Poland, Chim's birthplace. In 1940 he enlisted in the United States Army, serving in Europe as a photo interpreter during the war. In 1942 he became a "naturalized" citizen of the United States, the same year that his parents were killed by the Nazis. Chim photographed for Life, along with Look, Paris-Match and Regards. In 1948 he received a commission through UNICEF and traveled to Austria, Hungary, Italy, Poland and Germany to document the plight of World War II refugee children. Inge Bondi, Chim scholar, said: "Chim's heart had always gone out to children, and they reacted to him with complete acceptance. They seemed oblivious of him, but he noticed every little movement, every little pain, every little pleasure. There is no artifice, no bravura of lighting expertise in Chim's photographs of the children. They speak simply from his pictures, as if alive. This intellectual, so adept at analyzing the most complex political situations, so comfortable photographing heads of state, produced his greatest photographs to help children in need." Between 1949 and 1955 Chim travelled extensively throughout Europe and Israel fulfilling assignments for major publications in Europe and the United States.