Dora Kallmus (1881–1963), also known as Madame d’Ora, is one of the most important photographers of the early 20th century. From 1907 onwards, she ran a studio in Vienna under the brand name d’Ora, which was frequented by illustrious personalities from the aristocracy, art and society, and quickly became the first address for artistic portrait photography. Inspired by art photography around 1900, she created images that radiate elegance and individuality and reflect the prevailing zeitgeist.
As one of the first fashion photographers, she documented the clothing creations of the Wiener Werkstätte and portrayed the fashion entrepreneur and style icon Emilie Flöge. The splendid portraits of the Hungarian high aristocracy that Dora Kallmus photographed in 1916/17 on the occasion of the coronation of Emperor Charles as King of Hungary show in a unique way the splendor of an era that is coming to an end.
The exhibition, which exclusively includes the photographer’s own collection, spans the period from her early days in Vienna to the later phases of her work, which she lived in Paris from 1925 onwards. In Paris, Dora Kallmus portrayed stars such as Josephine Baker and Ida Rubinstein, created glamorous fashion photographs and worked on the consistent further development of her photographic style. The experience of persecution and loss during the Second World War ultimately shaped the photographer’s later work. The glamorous mixed with morbid aspects to create a new artistic visual language that found expression in photographs of animal carcasses in Parisian slaughterhouses. Curated by Gabriele Hofer-Hagenauer.
Madame d’Ora (Dora Kalmus)
Elegance and eccentricity
5 December 2024 – 9 March 2025
Atelier d‘Ora Emilie Flöge in einem Kleid aus dem Salon „Schwestern Flöge“, 1908 Silbergelatine, 21 x 15,6 cm OÖLKG, Land Oberösterreich, Fotosammlung
Atelier d’Ora Schuhdetail der Gräfin Erdödy, 1917 Ma OÖLKG, Land Oberösterreich, Fotosammlung Mattalbumin, 13,4 x 10,2 cm
Atelier d‘Ora Die Tänzerin Elsa Krüger, 1922 Silbergelatine, 22,5 x 15,5 cm OÖLKG, Land Oberösterreich, Fotosammlung
d’Ora Paris Abendkleid von Alix, 1935 Silbergelatine, 20,9 x 16,9 cm OÖLKG, Land Oberösterreich, Fotosammlung
