Henri Cartier-Bresson Foundation
The Henri Cartier-Bresson Foundation, also known as Fondation HCB, is an art gallery and non-profit organization in Paris. It was set up in 2003 by photographer Henri Cartier-Bresson, his wife Martine Franck, and their daughter Mélanie Cartier-Bresson. Its aim is to preserve and display the work of Cartier-Bresson and Franck, and to showcase work by other artists as well. The foundation hosts four solo exhibitions each year by photographers, painters, sculptors, and illustrators. Agnès Sire is its artistic director and François Hébel is the director.
Its mission is to preserve the archives of Cartier-Bresson and Franck and make their work available to researchers and curators. The archives include more than 50,000 prints and 200,000 negatives, plus documents. Before 2018 the materials were spread across four sites; since then they have been housed in a single building.
It opened in 2003 in a renovated 19th-century building at 2 Impasse Lebouis in Montparnasse. In November 2018 it moved to 79 Rue des Archives in the Marais, occupying a tall, narrow studio in a 1913 building. The new space offers more room for exhibitions and archives, allowing four shows a year instead of three. The foundation is privately funded, with part of its funds coming from an endowment left by Franck, who died in 2012.
The foundation also supports researchers and curators who work with the archives. Agnès Sire led the foundation from its start and became artistic director in 2017; François Hébel was appointed director. The foundation also runs the HCB Award.
This page was last edited on 2 February 2026, at 12:00 (CET).