Miscellaneous

Biography: 19th Century photographic duo Bisson Frères

Biography: 19th Century photographic duo Bisson Frères

Known collectively as the Bisson Frères, the two brothers Louis-Auguste and August-Rosalie Bisson captured Europe’s attention with their striking, large-scale photographs of French churches and historic monuments across Europe. Their breathtaking alpine views shot on an expedition led by Napoleon III to celebrate the return of Savoy to France were widely celebrated, enhancing their reputation for a wide range of…
Biography: 19th Century photographer Samuel Bourne

Biography: 19th Century photographer Samuel Bourne

Samuel Bourne (1834 – 1912) was a British photographer known for his prolific seven years’ work in India, from 1863 to 1870. His name is synonymous with British-Indian photography and he is the most researched and acclaimed colonial photographer. His work gave birth to a studio, Bourne & Shepherd, which still operates in Calcutta. Bourne’s photographs posses a luminescent quality…
Biography: 19th Century photographers Burton Brothers

Biography: 19th Century photographers Burton Brothers

Burton Brothers (1866–1914) was one of New Zealand’s most important nineteenth-century photographic studios and was based in Dunedin, New Zealand. It was founded by Walter John Burton (1836–1880) in 1866 as the Grand Photographic Saloon and Gallery and was situated in Princes Street, Dunedin. Burton was a member of a prominent family of printers, bookbinders and photographers based in Derby,…
Biography: photographer Max Dupain

Biography: photographer Max Dupain

Max Dupain (1911 – 1992) was an Australian modernist photographer. Dupain received his first camera as a gift in 1924, spurring his interest in photography. He later joined the Photographic Society of NSW, where he was taught by Justin Newlan; after completing his tertiary studies, he worked for Cecil Bostock in Sydney. By 1934 Max Dupain had struck out on…
Biography: French pioneer photographer Charles Nègre

Biography: French pioneer photographer Charles Nègre

Charles Nègre (1820–1880) was a pioneering photographer born in Grasse, France. He studied painting under Ingres and Delaroche, another of whose pupils, Gustave Le Gray, introduced him to photography. After a short period of making daguerreotypes, he embraced the calotype process, becoming adept at retouching negatives and printing. He used his pictures as aids to painting and developed his skills…
Biography: Pictorial photographer Harold Cazneaux

Biography: Pictorial photographer Harold Cazneaux

Harold Cazneaux (1878 – 1953) was an Australian pictorialist photographer; a pioneer whose style had an indelible impact on the development of Australian photographic history. Cazneaux moved to Sydney in 1904 and worked in Freeman & Co. Ltd’s studio, becoming manager and chief operator. On 1 September 1905 at Lewisham he married Mabel Winifred Hodge. In his leisure time he…
Biography: German photographer Albert Renger-Patzsch

Biography: German photographer Albert Renger-Patzsch

Albert Renger-Patzsch (1897 – 1966) was a German photographer associated with the New Objectivity. Renger-Patzsch experimented with photography as a teenager. After serving in World War I, he studied chemistry at Dresden Technical College. In 1920 he became director of the picture archive at the Folkwang publishing house in Hagen. In 1925 Renger-Patzsch began to pursue photography as a full-time…
Biography: Pictorial photographer Jozef Emiel Borrenbergen

Biography: Pictorial photographer Jozef Emiel Borrenbergen

Jozef Emiel Borrenbergen (Antwerp, 1884-1965), was one of the leading early amateur photographers in Belgium. He saw all important periods in photography since the turn of the century and marvelously adapted to new styles and techniques. He was the editor of the magazine “Fotokunst” (1924-1939) and presided the Photographic Cercle “Iris” in Antwerp for many years. His work was found…
Biography: Pictorial photographer Robert Demachy

Biography: Pictorial photographer Robert Demachy

Robert Demachy (1859–1936) was a French Pictorial photographer of the late 19th and early 20th century. He is best known for his intensely manipulated prints that display a distinct painterly quality. He was influenced by the Impressionist painters and spent most of his time making photographs and developing his theories on photography, both technical and aesthetic. He wrote thousands of…
Biography: Experimental photographer Heinz Hajek-Halke

Biography: Experimental photographer Heinz Hajek-Halke

Heinz Hajek-Halke (1898–1983) was a German experimental photographer who co-founded the Fotoform group with Otto Steinert. Heinz Hajek-Halke, born in Berlin in 1898, spent part of his childhood in Argentina. He worked as a photo editor, press photographer and commercial artist, concentrating almost from the start on montage techniques. During World War II he lived quietly and photographed small animal…
Biography: Documentary photographer Emil Otto Hoppé

Biography: Documentary photographer Emil Otto Hoppé

Emil Otto Hoppé (1878-1972) was one of the most important art and documentary photographers of the modern era whose artistic success rivaled those of his peers, Alfred Stieglitz (1864-1946), Edward Steichen (1879-1973) and Walker Evans (1903-1975). Hoppé was one of the most renowned portrait photographers of his day, as well as a brilliant landscape and travel photographer. His strikingly modernist…
Biography: Paul Strand

Biography: Paul Strand

Paul Strand (1890 – 1976). When he was 17 years old, he began taking photography courses, studying under famed photographer Lewis Hine. During his training, Strand also became acquainted with Alfred Stieglitz, whose 291 Gallery in New York provided inspiration for Strand and other aspiring modernist photographers and artists. A turning point in his career came in 1915 when he…
Biography: Imogen Cunningham

Biography: Imogen Cunningham

Imogen Cunningham (April 12, 1883 – June 24, 1976) was an American photographer known for her botanical photography, nudes, and industrial landscapes. In 1901, having sent away $15 for her first camera, she commenced what would become the longest photographic career in the history of the medium. Cunningham soon turned her attention to both the nude as well as native…
Biography: Herbert List

Biography: Herbert List

Herbert List (October 7, 1903–April 4, 1975) was a German photographer, who worked for magazines, including Vogue, Harper’s Bazaar, and Life, and was associated with Magnum Photos. Herbert List was a classically educated artist who combined a love of photography with a fascination for surrealism and classicism. Born into a prosperous Hamburg merchant family, List began an apprenticeship at a…
Biography: Josef Sudek

Biography: Josef Sudek

Josef Sudek (17 March 1896, Kolín, Bohemia – 15 September 1976, Prague) was a Czech photographer, best known for his photographs of Prague. Originally a bookbinder, Sudek was badly injured during action by the Hungarian Army on the Italian Front of World War I in 1916. Although he had no experience with photography and was one-handed due to his amputation,…
Biography: Edward Weston

Biography: Edward Weston

Edward Weston (born March 24, 1886 in Highland Park, Illinois – January 1, 1958) was a an American photographer. He started with photography at the age of 16 when his father gave him first camera. Over forty-year career Weston photographed an increasingly expansive set of subjects, including landscapes, still lifes, nudes, portraits, genre scenes and even whimsical parodies. In 1947…