SMITH, W. EUGENE (1918-1978) "Walk to Paradise Garden." Silver print, 14 3/4x12 3/4 inches (37.5x32.4 cm.), with Smith's signature, in ink, on mount recto. 1946; printed 1950s
From the Collection of Dr. and Mrs. Martin Laufe, who purchased the print directly from Smith in the spring of 1960.
Gene Smith is a legendary figure in the annals of photography, and is considered one of the greatest war correspondents of the 20th-century. A celebrated photojournalist for LIFE magazine, he covered the American offensive against Japan during World War II. In Okinawa he was severely injured by mortar fire. His war wounds resulted in two painful years of hospitalization and plastic surgery, during which time it was doubtful whether he would ever be able to return to photography.
The psychological darkness that enveloped Smith was transformed one day in 1946, when he took a walk with his two children, Juanita and Patrick, towards a sun-bathed clearing: He wrote: While I followed my children into the undergrowth and the group of taller trees – how they were delighted at every little discovery! – and observed them, I suddenly realized that at this moment, in spite of everything, in spite of all the wars and all I had gone through that day, I wanted to sing a sonnet to life and to the courage to go on living it.
The photograph was a highlight of Steichen's "The Family of Man: exhibition at the Museum of Modern Art, and has been widely reproduced.
