On 6 June 1944 photographer Robert Capa landed with American forces on Omaha Beach to document the Allied invasion of France. Capa’s eleven extant D-Day images have since served as a visual reference point for that decisive day in history. The photograph offered here is arguably the most immediate and visceral of the group, taken at a low angle and showing the determination of its principal subject as he makes his perilous way from landing vessel to shore.

The markings on the reverse of this print suggest that it is one of few surviving prints made during Capa’s lifetime. Magnum’s New York office was at the 64th Street address given on the stamp between 1953 and 1955. The print’s penciled notations indicate that it was in consideration for the Family of Man exhibition at The Museum of Modern Art; Edward Steichen and his team had concluded their selection process in mid-May of 1954, ahead of Capa’s death at the end of the month.

This photograph comes originally from the collection of United States Army Captain Frank Stich of the 55th Squadron, Eighth Air Force, with whom Capa flew into Germany to continue his coverage of the war after D-Day. Capa warmly inscribed and signed a copy of his memoir Slightly Out of Focus to Stich: ‘To a comrade in arms—Frank Stich, 17 April 1947.'