Stevan Kragujević

Trade and professional work

He became occupied with photography at the age of fourteen. He learned the photographer's trade in Senta with Martin Ronai and Danilo Jakšić. During the war, Stevan went on with his education and progress. Keeping friends with the experienced Geza Barta in Novi Sad, he bought at his photo shop one of the first colour films and used it only for the most valuable shots. So, in 1943, "A Goose-girl", the photo of a young woman with a basket and geese in a Vojvodina alley, was taken. The photo, entitled "A Motif from Vojvodina Village" was published on the front cover of "Duga" magazine, No.313, which, in that way, in 1950, became the first illustrated magazine with the front cover in colour.

He was the first photojournalist of the Information Agency at the Presidium of SFRY, which was managed by Eva Biro, international public-relations person, and headed by Vladimir Dedijer.

Among other photos, the first official portrait of President Tito, made by Kragujević in 1950, was intended for foreign embassies and correspondents. The photo is preserved in Kragujević's archives. Later in his career, Stevan made a rich stock of photos of President Tito, covering his trips around the country, visits to various companies, meetings with foreign statesmen, workmen, artists, ciitizens, or young people, but, apart from official photos, he took a series of anthological, unofficial ones. Because of that, many people considered him Tito's personal photographer – which he was not.

After that period (1949–1951), Stevan Kragujević became a member of the selected team of photographers in Tanjug (1951–1953), and from 1953 until retirement in 1982 a photojournalist and photo editor of the daily newspaper "Politika".

During his work in "Politika", especially in the period of modernization (after moving to the new, present-day building) he held other important positions – Chief of the Photolaboratory and Photo department of the company. For a long time he was the head of the Photo department, passed on his experience on his younger colleagues, organized very active day and nighttime-work of the photo editorial office, and especially improved the sense of responsibility and awareness of the importance of taking care of the films and the establishment of rich photographic archives. Until his retirement, he was also a photo editor and helped in introducing a new section in "Politika", especially the one stressing the real value and importance of photography ("U slici i reči" – " Trough picture and Word")

Photographic documentation

With his ample work, Kragujević made a unique documentary chronology about the development of Yugoslavia, being an eyewitness, as a photojournalist, of all important political, cultural, artistic and sports events. As an accredited correspondent, he was present at all the events in the Yugoslav Assembly, Party and Union conventions, May-Day Parade and Youth Day, formation of the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM, Brioni, 1956), about student protests in 1968, natural disasters and accidents (Skoplje earthquake, 1963).

The gallery of his excellent portraits of politicians, statesmen and monarchs in the second half of the twentieth century, who visited Yugoslavia at that time (Nehru, Nasser, Indira Gandhi, Khrushchev, Edward Kennedy, Elizabeth II, the British Queen, the Greek Royal Couple), and also other outstanding persons in the field of science, literature, film and sports (American astronaut Neil Armstrong, opera star Mario del Monaco, chess magician Robert Fischer, film stars Laurence Olivier, Gérard Philipe, Yves Montand, Elizabeth Taylor, Orson Welles, Yul Brynner, as well as a lot of artists and legends in the country, musicians, actors and writers – Nobel Laureate Ivo Andrić, Branko Ćopić, Desanka Maksimović, Dobrica Ćosić, Vasko Popa – make a special half a century long chronology of life and events in, at some time, large and shared country. These meetings sometimes turned for Kragujević into lifelong friendships ( academician dr. Seli, writers and translators Stojan Vujičić, Zoltan Čuka, painters Božidar Jakac, Lazar Vujaklija, Ilija Vilotić, Libero Markoni, Ištvan Tot, Andruško Karolj, woman sculptors Vida Jocić, Mira Sandić, art historian Oto Bihali Merin, and others), and the contacts with numerous artists, who wanted the portraits taken by him as an author (conductor Djura Jakšić, composer and guitar player Jovan Jovičić, violinist Branko Pajović, journalist Leon Davičo (thanks to whom Stevan came to "Politika"), and poets Dušan Radović and Oskar Davičo, all of whom created unrepeatable story about mutual support, cooperation and understanding.

Exhibitions

He took part at numerous international and Yugoslav exhibitions, and was also the author of special one- man shows, most often dedicated to his home town Senta. His first solo exhibition – One hundred photographs by Stevan Kragujević was held in his native town Senta from April 28 to May 5, 1956. The last exhibition, in the Museum of the Town of Senta in March 2000, next to 65- year jubilee of dealing with photography – symbolically represented Stevan's whole work.

Appreciations

A lot of people wrote about Stevan Kragujević: academician Prof. Istvan Szeli, master of photography and photoanthologist Borivoj Mirosavljević, art photography historian prof. dr. Milanka Todić and Goran Malić, art historian Atila Pejin, writers Živojin Pavlović, Jovica Aćin, Draginja Ramadanski and Vasa Pavković, publicists Momčilo Stefanović, Dušan Djurić, Budimir Potočan, prominent journalists, contemporaries and colleagues: Borko Gvozdenović Milinko Stefanović, Djordje Bukilica, Stevan Labudović, Dragan Mitrović, Predrag Milosavljević, Ana Lazukić, Ištvan Nemet, Milorad Mitrović and others.

One of the most important books on the life and work of Stevan Kragujević was published posthumously, and marked an anniversary of the departure of this outstanding photojournalist and art photographer. The photo monograph entitled Prostor večnosti (The Space of Eternity), the photo monograph about the life and work of Stevan Kragujević was edited by Borivoj Mirosavljević and was published in the series “Zlatno oko” (“The Golden Eye”) by Foto i kino savez Vojvodine, Novi Sad, 2003 (Photo and Cinema Association of Vojvodina), and supported by the City Assembly of Senta. The book was promoted in April 2003 in Senta, Belgrade and Novi Sad, and followed by the exhibitions representing the most important photos and the moments in the life and work of Stevan Kragujević.

Books with the works of Stevan Kragujević

Important publications with the author’s works

Anthologies, collections, lexicons

Stevan Kragujević’s legacy

Owing to the efforts and willingness of Tanja Kragujević, Stevan’s daughter, a remarkably valuable piece of Stevan Kragujević's heritage was established in the Museum of Yugoslav History on April 1, 2015. The legacy holds nearly 6.000 original negatives and about 1.500 photographs, lots of books and catalogues about Stevan Kragujević and the ones with his photos, as well as dozens of items and documents giving evidence of his profession as a photojournalist, and also about his cooperation and friendship with a lot of outstanding contemporaries home and abroad.

Among the photos, making this way the photo archives of the Museum of Yugoslav History more valuable, are those telling about the activities of President Josip Broz Tito in the country, numerous portraits of other politicians who marked the second half of the twentieth century, and also the photos of the Students Protests of 1968 and political events in the last decade of the life of Yugoslavia.

Awards and acknowledgements

Special acknowledgements: