With digital cameras and mobile phones perpetually snapping pictures for Facebook, MySpace, Twitter,
and Flickr, it’s easy to overlook the time, attention, and sharp
intuition involved when, in a matter of milliseconds, a master captures
an instant that becomes iconic. Yousuf Karsh was one such master. He
once said he photographed “those men and women who leave their mark on
the world.” John F. Kennedy, Albert Einstein, Sophia Loren, Winston
Churchill, and Ernest Hemingway were among his subjects, so you know he
wasn’t airbrushing the truth. He would have been 100 years old this
year, so the Museum of Fine Arts (467 Huntington Avenue, Boston. 617.267.9300) is celebrating him with “Karsh 100: A Biography in Images,”
on display through January 19. Just one warning: these Renaissance
painting-like photos might turn you off paparazzi for a while. See
stars with admission to the MFA ($17, $15 for seniors and students over
18, $6.50 for kids).
