Cornell Capa
Alfred Glassell and the largest marlin ever caught on a handheld rod. It weighed 1,560 lbs. and is on view today at the Smithsonian Institution.

Alfred Glassell and the largest marlin ever caught on a handheld rod. It weighed 1,560 lbs. and is on view today at the Smithsonian Institution.

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Artist Cornell Capa (American, born Hungary, 1918–2008)American, born Hungary, 1918–2008

CultureAmerican

Titles

Alfred Glassell and the largest marlin ever caught on a handheld rod. It weighed 1,560 lbs. and is on view today at the Smithsonian Institution.

Date1953, printed 2007

PlaceCabo Blanco, Peru

MediumChromogenic print

DimensionsImage/sheet: 20 × 16 in. (50.8 × 40.6 cm)

Credit LineMuseum purchase funded by E. J. Hudson, Jr., in honor of Alfred C. Glassell, Jr. at "One Great Night in November, 2007"

Object number2007.1319

Not on view

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Department

Photography

Object Type

PHOTOGRAPHS

DescriptionOn August 4, 1953, founder of Transco and MFAH trustee Alfred C. Glassell, Jr. caught a 1,560 lb. black marlin off the coast of Cabo Blanco, Peru, setting a new record for the largest Marlin ever caught on a handheld rod. Cornell Capa was sent by Life magazine to photograph the new record holder with his remarkable catch. Capa worked for Life from 1946 to 1954, before switching to the staff of Time-Life's new magazine Sports Illustrated. One of the many innovations made by Sports Illustrated, in which this image was published, was the primary use of color photography to cover sports events. After his years with Time-Life, Capa became the founding director of the International Center of Photography in New York City.
ProvenanceTime Warner Inc., Chicago; purchased by MFAH, 2007.
Exhibition History“Made for Magazines: Iconic 20th-Century Photographs,” The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, February 9–May 4, 2014.
Inscriptions, Signatures and Marks

No marks or inscriptions

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