Europe 1950-1951

Girls with Ice Cream Cones, Chartres, France. December 1950.

The Eiffel Tower, Paris, France. December 1950.

Man in Park, Luxembourg. October 22, 1950.

Sugar Ray Robinson on the Champs Élysées, Paris, France. 1950.

Waterfront, Lisbon, Portugal. April 7, 1951.

Lovers on Bench, Stockholm, Sweden. October 3, 1950.

Woman in Doorway, Spain. March 30, 1951. Whatever this woman was reading must have been very absorbing, because it took me a few minutes to choose my angle - all the while hoping she wouldn't move. She remained totally oblivious to my presence. -FJM — **Woman in Doorway, Spain. March 30, 1951.**

Whatever this woman was reading must have been very absorbing, because it took me a few minutes to choose my angle - all the while hoping she wouldn't move. She remained totally oblivious to my presence.
-FJM

Grindelwald, Switzerland. Women’s International ski competition. January 13, 1951.

Copenhagen, Denmark. Street scene. October 18, 1950.

Street Scene in Rotterdam, Holland. September 16, 1951.

Girl in Bar, Antwerp. September 17, 1951. An intimate watering hole in Antwerp gave me this vignette, repeated in waterfront bars all over the world. There was no common language between the young Belgian woman and the Brazilian sailor, but none wa… — **Girl in Bar, Antwerp. September 17, 1951.**

An intimate watering hole in Antwerp gave me this vignette, repeated in waterfront bars all over the world. There was no common language between the young Belgian woman and the Brazilian sailor, but none was necessary.
-FJM

Man in Bar, Antwerp, Belgium. September 17, 1951.

Schoolgirls, Helsinki, Finland. September 8, 1951.

Flying Buttress, Chartres Cathedral, Chartres, France.  December 1950. — Flying Buttress, Chartres Cathedral, Chartres, France. December 1950.

Göteborg, Sweden. Schoolboys. October 4, 1950.

Venice, Italy. Couple Before St. Mark’s Cathedral. January 1951.

Venice, Italy. Cameraman in Piazzo San Marco. January 7, 1951.

Three Passengers at Table on Ferry, Finland. September 8, 1951.

Rome, Italy. The Colosseum. December 31, 1950.

Arc de Triomphe, Paris. November 1950. Paris was as quiet as a small town in 1950. Cars were scarce, people were few, and street activity was minimal. There were majestic monuments everywhere, reminding the world of France's erstwhile greatness. Th… — **Arc de Triomphe, Paris. November 1950.**

Paris was as quiet as a small town in 1950. Cars were scarce, people were few, and street activity was minimal. There were majestic monuments everywhere, reminding the world of France's erstwhile greatness. The Champs Élysées was the grandest of grand boulevards, stretching from the Arc de Triomphe to the Place de la Concorde. It had been the scene of great parades and celebrations, from Napoleon's time on. On this particular day there was none of that.
-FJM

Street Scene near the Panthéon, Paris, France. November 1950. The boulevards, parks and neighborhoods of Paris make it a wondrous city in which to walk. Each quartier has its own character, history and landmarks (and wisely, Métro stop!). I have fo… — **Street Scene near the Panthéon, Paris, France. November 1950.**

The boulevards, parks and neighborhoods of Paris make it a wondrous city in which to walk. Each quartier has its own character, history and landmarks (and wisely, Métro stop!). I have found no city in the world more inviting to visitors. The Panthéon seen here is one of three in the world, the other two being in Athens and Rome. It was completed in 1790, making it a close contemporary of the United States Capitol.
-FJM

Borghese Gardens, Rome, Italy. December 1950.

Young Men on Train, Seville, Spain. April 2, 1951. Before leaving Paris I had wisely purchased a first class train ticket, good for two thousand miles of travel anywhere in Spain. This worked well until I got to the south, where there seemed to be … — **Young Men on Train, Seville, Spain. April 2, 1951.**

Before leaving Paris I had wisely purchased a first class train ticket, good for two thousand miles of travel anywhere in Spain. This worked well until I got to the south, where there seemed to be no distinction between the various classes of seats on the train, unless perhaps first class passengers got a better grade of wood for their benches. It was the end of the Easter holidays, and these young men were heading back to school. They presented a marked contrast to the beggar children and other scenes of poverty I had photographed while in Andalusia.
-FJM

Begging Children. Spain. April 1, 1951. During my travels through Europe in 1950 and 1951 the two poorest countries I visited were Spain and Yugoslavia - at least as far as exterior appearances were concerned. I am sure there were those who were li… — **Begging Children. Spain. April 1, 1951.**

During my travels through Europe in 1950 and 1951 the two poorest countries I visited were Spain and Yugoslavia - at least as far as exterior appearances were concerned. I am sure there were those who were living quite well in both places, but they weren't walking around on the same streets I was! These begging children symbolized for me at the time the failure of Franco's fascism in Spain (and Tito's communism in Yugoslavia), in providing for the people.
-FJM

Row Houses, Dublin, Ireland. August 25, 1951.

Homeless Men, Zagreb, Yugoslavia. June 29, 1951 Since poverty was the norm in Zagreb, I could not avoid recording it as it was manifested everywhere. I grew up during the Depression in the United States, but Yugoslavia and southern Spain took pover… — **Homeless Men, Zagreb, Yugoslavia. June 29, 1951**

Since poverty was the norm in Zagreb, I could not avoid recording it as it was manifested everywhere. I grew up during the Depression in the United States, but Yugoslavia and southern Spain took poverty seriously - to a degree I had not experienced in my own early years. When I came across these men sitting on a bench I tried my usual approach: getting close enough to them to get a candid photograph, but without having any of them looking directly into the camera. However, my clothes invariably gave me away, and one of the men picked up on what I was doing.
-FJM

Woman with Geese, Leipheim, Germany. June 1951.

Street musicians, Paris, France. October 1950.

Four Men on a Bench. Newcastle, England. August 30, 1951.

Bald Boy, Zagreb, Yugoslavia. June 30, 1951.

Boy with Drill, Liverpool, England. August 24, 1951. This little boy stole my heart. He and his urchin friends kept a respectable distance as I conducted my customary search for targets of opportunity, but when I had finished his inquisitive friend… — **Boy with Drill, Liverpool, England. August 24, 1951.**

This little boy stole my heart. He and his urchin friends kept a respectable distance as I conducted my customary search for targets of opportunity, but when I had finished his inquisitive friends designated him as their envoy and urged him on as he cautiously approached me and asked: "Excuse me, mister, but are you a stranger from a far and distant land?"
-FJM

Child Beggar, Venice, Italy. January 6, 1951.

Old Woman and Young Woman, Yugoslavia. June 10 1951.

Woman under Tree, Zagreb, Yugoslavia. June 30, 1951.

Man and Woman Talking, Zagreb, Yugoslavia. June 30, 1951.

Chestnut Vendor, Paris, France. 1950. Street vendors were not new to me, but chestnuts certainly were. And they remain one taste that to this day I have not acquired! They must, however, have enjoyed some popularity, or else this vendor wouldn't be… — **Chestnut Vendor, Paris, France. 1950.**

Street vendors were not new to me, but chestnuts certainly were. And they remain one taste that to this day I have not acquired! They must, however, have enjoyed some popularity, or else this vendor wouldn't be there. She paid no attention to me, which made this photograph possible.
-FJM

Two Men and a Horse, Salonika, Greece. July 17, 1951. I was quite relieved to have left Yugoslavia, and to be in northern Greece, despite a miserable overnight train trip getting there. I had had to share my accommodations with a host of non-paying… — **Two Men and a Horse, Salonika, Greece. July 17, 1951.**

I was quite relieved to have left Yugoslavia, and to be in northern Greece, despite a miserable overnight train trip getting there. I had had to share my accommodations with a host of non-paying bedtime companions, that crawled out of the upholstery and left sizeable welts all over my body. I broke the journey to Athens by spending one day in Salonika, where I encountered these men down by the docks. They were engaged in a heated conversation when I happened upon them, and totally ignored me as I circled them and carefully chose my moment.
-FJM

Copenhagen, Denmark. Dock area. October 18, 1950.

Workmen, Newcastle, England. August 30, 1951.

Young Soldiers on Park Bench, Zagreb, Yugoslavia. June 30, 1950.

Copenhagen, Denmark. Boatman. October 18, 1950.

Two Men on Bench on Ferry, Finland. September 8, 1951.

Harbor Scene, Marseilles, France. December 15, 1950.

Two Men on Pier, Lisbon, Portugal. April 7, 1951.

Sunbathers along the Seine, Paris, France. April 1951.

Beach on the Côte d'Azur. December 16, 1950. The Côte d'Azur was a marvelous relief from the damp dreariness of winter in Paris. Even though it was approaching the Christmas holiday season, the streets and beaches were deserted, except for some har… — **Beach on the Côte d'Azur. December 16, 1950.**

The Côte d'Azur was a marvelous relief from the damp dreariness of winter in Paris. Even though it was approaching the Christmas holiday season, the streets and beaches were deserted, except for some hardy locals. For someone like myself, used to the soft white sand of New Jersey, I found the pebbled beaches themselves left a lot to be desired! Nearby, yet far removed from my five-dollar-a-day budget, were the opulent restaurants, hotels and casinos of Monte Carlo, for which the area is famous.
-FJM

High School Girls, Göteborg, Sweden. June 8, 1950

Boys on Bicycles, Pisa. December 21, 1950.

Street Scene, Florence, Italy. January 4, 1951.

Basilica de San Marco, Venice, Italy. January 6, 1951.

Milan Cathedral. January 8, 1951. Overcast weather followed me from Venice to Milan. Milan does not have the architecture or charm of Venice, but it does have its cathedral, and that gave me this powerful statement in the early morning light. -FJM — **Milan Cathedral. January 8, 1951.**

Overcast weather followed me from Venice to Milan. Milan does not have the architecture or charm of Venice, but it does have its cathedral, and that gave me this powerful statement in the early morning light.
-FJM

The Colosseum at Night, Rome, Italy. December 31, 1950.

Soldiers eying women, Retiro Park, Madrid, Spain. March 23, 1951.

Boys on Wall, Madrid, Spain. March 23, 1951. I have often found that young people reflect the different characteristics of their countries in a more genuine and uncontrived manner than their elders, especially when in front of a camera. And I was v… — **Boys on Wall, Madrid, Spain. March 23, 1951.**

I have often found that young people reflect the different characteristics of their countries in a more genuine and uncontrived manner than their elders, especially when in front of a camera. And I was very comfortable moving among youngsters; it wasn't many years since I had been one of them myself. These boys enjoyed hamming it up for me; I would never have had such cooperation from the soldiers in the background.
-FJM

Colosseum and Forum. Rome, Italy. December 21, 1950.

Street Scene, Frankfurt, Germany. October 20, 1950.

Gate of Constantine, Rome, Italy. December 21, 1950.

Balustrade with Lone Figure, Antwerp, Belgium. September 17, 1951.

Place de la Concorde at Dusk, Paris, France. December 1950.

Waterfront, Bergen, Norway. September 2, 1951.

Nuns with Umbrellas, Rome, Italy. December 23, 1950.

Ecole des Beaux-Arts, Paris, France. November 2, 1950.

Aerial, Edinburgh, Scotland. August 29, 1951.

Police in St. Mark's Square. January 6, 1951. In 1952, after I had returned to the United States and made a few prints of my Europe collection, I visited Edward Steichen at the Museum of Modern Art in New York. He returned the compliment and exhibi… — **Police in St. Mark's Square. January 6, 1951.**

In 1952, after I had returned to the United States and made a few prints of my Europe collection, I visited Edward Steichen at the Museum of Modern Art in New York. He returned the compliment and exhibited this, and a few other of my photographs, in a show entitled "Always the Young Strangers." It was one of the first photographs I had ever had exhibited, and it brought my work to the attention of the "big" magazines in New York - reinforcing the temptation to temporarily abandon architecture as a profession and try my luck as a freelance photographer.
-FJM

Postcard Vendor, Milan. January 8, 1951.

Two Gondoliers, Venice. January 7, 1951. One nice thing about the Italians is that if you aim your camera at them, they will give you the most natural and casual pose without objecting or, better still, charging you! After having visited a few coun… — **Two Gondoliers, Venice. January 7, 1951.**

One nice thing about the Italians is that if you aim your camera at them, they will give you the most natural and casual pose without objecting or, better still, charging you! After having visited a few countries in Europe, I found the Italians without a doubt the most friendly and refreshing.
-FJM

1950 was a watershed year for the young Fred J. Maroon. In the space of six weeks he graduated from college, was hired by Life Magazine in New York, and was awarded a scholarship to do graduate architectural studies at the École Supérieure des Beaux-Arts in Paris. Life Magazine, on learning of the Beaux-Arts scholarship, strongly encouraged Maroon to accept it, and offered to make him a "stringer" in Life's Paris bureau for the year he was to spend there.

Upon arrival at the Beaux-Arts that September he was told that, due to the unusually large number of students, he was expected to complete only every other six-week design project, and would be free to do as he wished for the six weeks between projects. Maroon decided that when he wasn't doing assignments for Life Magazine he would spend his off-time touring and photographing every country in Europe that was not behind the Iron Curtain, with the intention of one day producing a book. The images he made show Europe at a period when it had not yet recovered from the ravages of World War II. The people and places are seen through the eyes of a young American war veteran, fresh out of university, curious yet unsophisticated, as he intuitively reacted to the scenes he witnessed. Maroon was undeterred by the distrust many Europeans felt towards outsiders carrying cameras, even though he was arrested and jailed four times. Having "Student" listed as his occupation in his American passport undoubtedly helped him avoid more serious consequences. In Yugoslavia he was constantly under surveillance by a one-armed man; only decades later did a former C.I.A. agent and friend tell him that the man was in fact notorious, and was nicknamed "The Executioner."

Upon Maroon's return to the United States in 1951 his European portfolio attracted the attention of Edward Steichen, the legendary director of photography at the Museum of Modern Art in New York. Steichen selected a number of his images to be included in a 1953 exhibition entitled "Always the Young Strangers." This coincided with the era of the "big magazines," before television became king. Word quickly spread, and soon Maroon was in demand by many of the leading magazines of the day, eclipsing any plans he had to become an architect.

Now, seventy years later, his early work shows the embryonic talent that he later developed as his hobby became his career.