Cityscape photography 20th century
Berenice Alice Abbott was an American photographer best known for her portraits of between-the-wars 20th century cultural figures, New York City photographs of architecture and urban design of the 1930s, and science interpretation in the 1940s to 1960s.
Manuel Álvarez Bravo was an Mexican visionary photographer whose work vividly illustrates the cultural heritage of Latin America. His unique perspective on life and superb photographic skills have inspired generations of photographers around the world.
Alvarez Bravo was known for his experiments with light and shadows, composition and form. His surreal photographs were often full of mystery and enigma, while also reflecting the difficulties and contradictions of Mexican society in the first half of the 20th century.
Alvarez Bravo's work marvellously combined aesthetic beauty with profound social context. His work is not only inspiring in its beauty but also a reminder of the importance of preserving peoples' cultural heritage and history.
Diane Arbus was an American photographer. Arbus's imagery helped to normalize marginalized groups and highlight the importance of proper representation of all people. She photographed a wide range of subjects including strippers, carnival performers, nudists, people with dwarfism, children, mothers, couples, elderly people, and middle-class families.
Ellen Auerbach, born Ellen Rosenberg, is an American photographer of German-Jewish descent and a master of avant-garde photography.
Ellen studied at the Baden State School of Art and continued her studies at the Academy of Fine Arts in Stuttgart before meeting photographer Greta Stern (1904-1999) in Berlin. Together they opened Ringl+pit, a photography and design studio specializing in advertising, fashion and portrait photography. The photographer is most remembered for her groundbreaking work at this particular studio. Ellen, who also experimented with film, made two short black-and-white films.
In 1933, Ellen emigrated to Palestine and opened a children's portrait studio there. A few years later she moved with her husband Walter Auerbach to the United States, where she worked in a private art collection, taught photography, made films and photographs to study children's behavior, and worked as an educational therapist.
The Ringl+pit works and photographic oeuvre of Ellen Auerbach and Greta Stern were rediscovered in the 1980s, and a series of solo and group exhibitions in the United States and Germany followed.
Veniamin Pavlovich Belkin (Russian: Вениамин Павлович Белкин), a distinguished Russian and Soviet artist, was born in 1884 and made significant contributions to the fields of painting, graphic arts, and teaching until his death in 1951. His extensive teaching career included positions at prestigious institutions such as the Higher Institute of Photos and Photo Equipment, the Baron A.L. Stieglitz Central School of Technical Drawing, Vhuteine, the State Architectural Institute, and the Leningrad Institute of Painting, Sculpture, and Architecture named after Ilya Repin. In 1955, a memorial exhibition in Leningrad posthumously honored his artistic legacy.
Belkin's artworks, characterized by their depth and artistic integrity, are held in high regard within major museum collections, including the State Tretyakov Gallery and the State Russian Museum, as well as various regional museums. His contributions to Russian art are celebrated for their historical and cultural significance, bridging the gap between pre-revolutionary and Soviet art.
For collectors and experts in art and antiques, Belkin's work represents an intriguing investment, embodying the rich tapestry of Russian history and culture. His legacy continues to inspire and influence contemporary art, making his pieces sought after by connoisseurs around the world.
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Margaret Bourke-White was an American photographer and photojournalist. She studied photography at the Clarence H. White School of Photography. White, where she developed her trademark style using dramatic angles and strong contrasts of light and shadow.
Burke-White was one of the first women photographers to work for Life magazine, and her images became synonymous with the magazine's coverage of major world events such as World War II and the Korean War. She was also the first woman photographer to work in war zones during World War II, where she captured powerful images of warfare and its impact on civilians.
In addition to war photography, Bourke-White also documented the Great Depression in the United States and was one of the few photographers to gain access to the Soviet Union in the 1930s where she documented Soviet industrialization and the lives of ordinary people.
Bourke-White's work was known for its powerful impact and stark realism. She often risked her safety to get the perfect shot and her images continue to inspire photographers today. She published several books of her work, including 'Eyes on Russia' and 'Dear Fatherland, Rest in Peace'.
Bourke-White left behind a legacy as one of the greatest photojournalists of the 20th century.
Mona Breede is a German photographer.
Mona Breede studied photography at the Bavarian School of Photography in Munich and at the Higher Art School in Karlsruhe. From 2001-2002 she taught photography and design at the Merkur Akademie in Karlsruhe. After working for some time in Chicago, in 2007 Mona Breede traveled to Asia and Russia and brought back a series of photographs from Shanghai, Moscow and St. Petersburg.
Today, it is places and people that interest the photographer the most. As a photographer, Mona Breede has a receptive and sensitive eye. Her work interprets reality, imprints on it and has a great power of expression.
Harry Callahan was an American photographer and artist who is best known for his innovative and experimental work in the mid-20th century. He was began his artistic career as a painter before turning to photography.
Callahan's photographic work was characterized by his interest in abstraction, pattern, and form. He often photographed everyday objects and scenes, such as street signs, buildings, and landscapes, and used his camera to explore the beauty and complexity of the world around him.
Callahan was also known for his work as a teacher, and he taught photography at the Rhode Island School of Design for many years. His students included notable photographers such as Aaron Siskind and Ray K. Metzker, and he was known for his rigorous and challenging approach to teaching.
Callahan's legacy as an artist and photographer continues to influence contemporary photography and art. His innovative techniques and distinctive style continue to inspire new generations of artists, and his work is recognized as a significant contribution to the history of photography.
Pegg Clarke was an Australian professional fashion, portrait, architectural and society photographer whose work, published frequently in magazines, was referred to by historian Jack Cato as being of "the highest standard." Her work featured in prominent early 20th century Australian magazines. By the end of World War I Clarke was considered one of the leading photographers in Melbourne. She was respected for her fashion photography, ger high society portraits, especially of debutantes and brides and their portraits of visiting celebrities. Clarke was not trained at the National Gallery School, though she drew as well as photographed, but was involved with the Melbourne Society of Women Painters and Sculptors. In her personal work, mostly of landscape, Pegg was a Pictorialist.
Arthur (Usher) Fellig, known by his pseudonym Weegee, was a photographer and photojournalist, known for his stark black and white street photography in New York City.
Weegee worked in Manhattan's Lower East Side as a press photographer during the 1930s and 1940s and developed his signature style by following the city's emergency services and documenting their activity. Much of his work depicted unflinchingly realistic scenes of urban life, crime, injury and death. Weegee published photographic books and also worked in cinema, initially making his own short films and later collaborating with film directors such as Jack Donohue and Stanley Kubrick.
LaToya Ruby Frazier is an American visual artist, renowned for her profound work that delves into social justice, cultural change, and the American experience. Born in 1982 in Braddock, Pennsylvania, Frazier utilizes various media, including photography, video, and performance, to explore themes of industrialism, environmental justice, and human rights. Her art, deeply rooted in collaborative storytelling, often portrays her family and community, offering a lens into the lived experiences of working-class families amid societal and environmental challenges.
Her notable series "The Notion of Family" explores her family's life in Braddock, revealing the impacts of industrial decline on the community and environment. This work not only highlights LaToya Ruby Frazier's personal narrative but also serves as a broader commentary on race, class, and the American industrial landscape. Her commitment to social documentation is further exemplified in projects like "Flint is Family," where she immersed herself in Flint, Michigan, to document the water crisis's impact on local families.
LaToya Ruby Frazier's exhibitions span across prestigious venues in the US and Europe, reflecting her influence and recognition in the art world. Her works are part of esteemed collections like The Museum of Modern Art and the Whitney Museum of American Art in New York. Frazier's accolades include a MacArthur Fellowship, demonstrating her significant contributions to contemporary art and social activism.
For art collectors and experts, Frazier's work offers a compelling intersection of art, activism, and storytelling, providing insightful perspectives on pressing social issues through the lens of personal and community narratives.
To stay informed about LaToya Ruby Frazier's work and related updates, including new product sales and auction events, subscribing to updates is a valuable opportunity for enthusiasts and collectors alike to engage with her impactful artistry and advocacy.
Doug Hall is an American photographer and media artist, who has received national and international recognition for his work in a range of practices including performance, installation, video, and large scale digital photography. He was a member of T. R. Uthco Collective (1970–1978). From 1981 to 2008, he was a member of faculty in the New Genres Department at the San Francisco Art Institute (SFAI). After retiring from the SFAI, he joined the Graduate Fine Arts faculty at the California College of the Arts (CCA) from 2008 to 2015.
Susan Hefuna is a German-Egyptian artist working in various fields of art.
She was born from the union of an Egyptian and a German, which put her at the intersection of the two cultures in which she was immersed. Hefuna completed her PhD in multimedia at the Institute for New Media in Frankfurt. She lives between Egypt and Germany and works in a variety of media including drawing, photography, sculpture, installation, video and performance. Hefuna combines her Egyptian and German roots in her work, using urban imagery, typography and traditions from both to build a bridge between the two cultures.
Hefuna's work often incorporates the form or image of the characteristic mashrabiya, an oriental carved wooden or stone architectural lattice screen.
Walde Huth, née Waldberta Huth, is a German photographer known for her street photos and portraits of famous people and fashion models.
She graduated from the State School of Applied Arts in Weimar, and after World War II she became a freelance photographer doing portrait and art photography. Walde Huth is primarily known for her fashion shots of the '50s, she also took unique stills and advertising photos, and created portraits of famous contemporaries. Her iconic fashion shots were taken in Paris. She shot the most famous models of her time not in the studio, but on location in the city, in front of the Eiffel Tower, along the Seine River, in contrast to the architecture and street life.
Walde Huth was an exceptional woman, a creative artist and a versatile photographer.
Gudrun Kemsa is one of the leading photographic and video artists working in Germany today. She lives and works in Düsseldorf and is a professor of Moving Image and Photography.
Gudrun Kemsa creates large-format photographs on the subject of human beings and architecture. Both authentic and virtual, her images come from metropolises such as Paris, New York, Rotterdam, Berlin and Dubai.
André Kertész, born Andor Kertész, was a Hungarian-born photographer known for his groundbreaking contributions to photographic composition and the photo essay. In the early years of his career, his then-unorthodox camera angles and style prevented his work from gaining wider recognition. Kertész never felt that he had gained the worldwide recognition he deserved. Today he is considered one of the seminal figures of photojournalism.
Klaus Kinold is a German architectural photographer.
Klaus Kinold studied architecture at the Technical University of Karlsruhe with Egon Eiermann, and then decided not to build but to show architecture. He opened an architectural photography studio in Munich and studied panoramic photography. For more than 25 years, Kinold was editor and illustrator of the Swiss professional publication KS Neues, which featured silicate brick buildings, and lectured on photography at the State Academy of Fine Arts in Stuttgart.
In 1983, Klaus Kinold had his first solo exhibition at the Rudolf Kieken Gallery in Cologne, followed by many other prestigious shows. From 2019 to August 2020, the DKM Museum in Duisburg designed the exhibition "Architecture through the eyes of a photographer", featuring the work of architects Carlo Scarpa, Rudolf Schwarz and Hans Döllgast.
Kinold documented almost all of the famous architects' projects. It was important to the photographer that his preferably black and white photographs were clear, objective, rational and factual in their presentation.
William Klein was an American-born French photographer and filmmaker noted for his ironic approach to both media and his extensive use of unusual photographic techniques in the context of photojournalism and fashion photography. He was ranked 25th on Professional Photographer's list of 100 most influential photographers.
Klein trained as a painter, studying under Fernand Léger, and found early success with exhibitions of his work. He soon moved on to photography and achieved widespread fame as a fashion photographer for Vogue and for his photo essays on various cities. He directed feature-length fiction films, numerous short and feature-length documentaries and produced over 250 television commercials.
Zoe Leonard is an American artist who works primarily with photography and sculpture. She has exhibited widely since the late 1980s and her work has been included in a number of seminal exhibitions including Documenta IX and Documenta XII, and the 1993, 1997 and 2014 Whitney biennials. She was awarded a Guggenheim Fellowship in 2020.
Vera Lutter is a German artist based in New York City. She works with several forms of digital media, including photography, projections, and video-sound installations. Through a multitude of processes, Lutter's oeuvre focuses on light and its ability to articulate the passing time and movement within a tangible image.
Danny Lyon is an American photographer and filmmaker.
All of Lyon's publications work in the style of photographic New Journalism, meaning that the photographer has become immersed in with, and is a participant of, the documented subject. He is the founding member of the publishing group Bleak Beauty.
After being accepted as the photographer for Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC), Lyon was present at almost all of the major historical events during the Civil Rights Movement.
Gordon Matta-Clark is an American photographic artist known for his subject-oriented art.
He studied architecture at Cornell University and literature at the Sorbonne in Paris.
Gordon Matta-Clark has used various media in his work, including film, video and photography.
Serge Mendjisky, birth name Serge Bernard Mendrsisezky, is a French painter and photographer, a representative of Divisionism.
Serge was the son of the painter Maurice Mendjisky (1890-1951) and studied in the studios of Picasso, Sutin, Braque and Léger, each of whom influenced his work in their own way. After studying at the Paris School of Fine Arts, he quickly gained recognition and began exhibiting in Japan and the United States, choosing to use a combination of photography and painting.
In the 90's Mendjisky used macro photography, turning to pop art, and since 2000 he decided to use photography as his only means of expression. In the collage technique, he modified photographic images of the world's most famous cities, such as New York and Paris, creating new urban landscapes and formulating his multi-dimensional vision of the world.
Joel Meyerowitz is an American street, portrait and landscape photographer and a pioneer of color photography. He lives and works in New York and London.
Meyerowitz became interested in color photography in 1962, when color photography was not yet considered serious art. There have been documentaries about him, and he is the author of 43 books, including one on the art of photography. Meyerowitz was the only photographer who received official permission to photograph the aftermath of the September 11, 2001 attacks in New York.
Meyerowitz continues to be an inspiration and a leader in photography today.
Tina Modotti (born Assunta Adelaide Luigia Modotti Mondini) was an Italian American photographer, model, actor, and revolutionary political activist for the Comintern. She left Italy in 1913 and moved to the United States, where she settled in San Francisco with her father and sister. In San Francisco, Modotti worked as a model and, later, as a photographer. In 1922 she moved to Mexico, where she became an active member of the Mexican Communist Party.
Robert Polidori is a Canadian-American photographer known for his large-scale color images of architecture, urban environments and interiors. His work has been the subject of solo exhibitions at the Metropolitan Museum of Art (New York), Musée d'art contemporain de Montréal, Martin-Gropius-Bau museum (Berlin), and Instituto Moreira Salles (São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro). His photographs are also included in the collections of the Museum of Modern Art (New York), New Orleans Museum of Art, J. Paul Getty Museum (Los Angeles), Victoria & Albert Museum (London), Château de Versailles, Centre Pompidou (Paris), and Bibliothèque Nationale (Paris), as well as many private collections.
Edward Steichen was a Luxembourgish American photographer, painter, and curator, renowned as one of the most prolific and influential figures in the history of photography.
Steichen was credited with transforming photography into an art form. His photographs appeared in Alfred Stieglitz's groundbreaking magazine Camera Work more often than anyone else during its publication run from 1903 to 1917. Stieglitz hailed him as "the greatest photographer that ever lived".
Nichole Velasquez is an American photographic artist.
He explores the detachment of color and form from their descriptive functions on analog film. His goal is to allow the emotional experience to take center stage in interpreting the work. Velázquez works with analog film, exploring emotional memories through the technique of multiple exposures. He worked with material scientists at the Technical University of Berlin to create silver plates, using mirrors as mediators for human color perception.
Ryszard Wasko is a Polish multimedia artist, curator, art organizer and educator who lives and works in Berlin.
He studied film and television production at the Łódź Film School. Wasko's work includes films, photographs, video works, paintings and drawings.
Minor Martin White was an American photographer, theoretician, critic, and educator. He combined an intense interest in how people viewed and understood photographs with a personal vision that was guided by a variety of spiritual and intellectual philosophies. Starting in Oregon in 1937 and continuing until he died in 1976, White made thousands of black-and-white and color photographs of landscapes, people, and abstract subject matter, created with both technical mastery and a strong visual sense of light and shadow. He taught many classes, workshops, and retreats on photography at the California School of Fine Arts, Rochester Institute of Technology, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, other schools, and in his own home. He lived much of his life as a closeted gay man, afraid to express himself publicly for fear of loss of his teaching jobs, and some of his most compelling images are figure studies of men whom he taught or with whom he had relationships. He helped start, and for many years was editor of, the photography magazine Aperture. After his death in 1976, White was hailed as one of America's greatest photographers.
