Magnum Editions Poster: Freighter crewman. Atlantic Ocean, 1941

Most famous for his remarkable coverage of five wars, Robert Capa once said, ‘the war photographer’s most fervent wish is for unemployment’. Born to Jewish parents in Budapest in 1913, he studied political science at the Deutsche Hochschule für Politik in Berlin before being driven out of the country by the threat of a Nazi regime. His work on the Spanish Civil War, the Second Sino-Japanese War, World War II across Europe, the 1948 Arab–Israeli War and the First Indochina War was published globally, bringing Capa much critical acclaim. His vocation would eventually bring about his death as he was killed on assignment by a landmine in 1954. His work stands today as some of the most influential war photography ever produced. Pictured here, a crewman of a Cunard freighter signals another ship of an Allied convoy en route to Great Britain from the U.S. Their ship is carrying seven airplanes, two torpedo boats, and twelve passengers who agreed to travel at their own risk.