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Andreas Feininger

  • Andreas Feininger, was a German émigré photographer who arrived in New York with his wife Wysse Feininger in 1939. He started a lifelong career exploring the city's streets, working as a photojournalist and writing a large number of photography manuals.
  • Given name:
    Andreas
  • Last name:
    Feininger
  • Date of Birth:
    27-12-1906
  • Place of Birth:
    Paris (FR)
  • Date of Death:
    18-02-1999
  • Place of Death:
    New York City (US)
  • Profession:
    EditorPhotographerWriter
  • Introduction:

    Andreas Feininger, was a German émigré photographer who arrived in New York with his wife Wysse Feininger in 1939. He started a lifelong career exploring the city's streets, working as a photojournalist and writing a large number of photography manuals.

    Word Count: 39

  • Signature Image:
    Portrait of Andreas Feininger by Fritz Henle, 1940/41, cropped detail (© Center for Creative Photography, University of Arizona: Andreas Feininger Archive, Photo: Helene Roth).
  • Content:

    Although he was a qualified architect, the rise of the National Socialists meant that Andreas Feininger was unable to find work in Germany, nor in Paris after his emigration there, and lost his work permit in Sweden. In New York he turned to photographing architecture and started a lifelong career as a photographer exploring the city's streets, working as a photojournalist and photo theorist and writing a large number of photography manuals.

    His interest in photography can be dated to the 1920s, when Andreas Feininger, son of the American-German painter Lyonel (1871–1956) and Julia (born Lilienfeld, 1880–1970) Feininger, studied carpentry at the Bauhaus in Weimar, then later, between 1925 and 1928, architecture at the Staatliche Bauschule Weimar. In Dessau he created his first darkroom in the cellar of the family home where his brother T. Lux Feininger also lived. Andreas Feininger’s first job as an architect was in Hamburg, where he also spent time photographing the city. (These images were first published in the photobook Feininger’s Hamburg in 1980.) In Hamburg he also met the photographer Herbert List, who was a friend of the photographer Rolf Tietgens. Feininger continued to practise architecture until 1931, but being French-born and half Jewish he was forced to leave Germany in 1932 and went to Paris to join his brother Lux Feininger, who had also studied at the Bauhaus and was pursuing a career as a painter and photographer. In Paris, Andreas Feininger obtained a job with the French architect Le Corbusier, but his salary was never paid. As in Hamburg, he discovered the city through photography on his walks. Finally he emigrated in 1933 to Stockholm, where he joined his student friend and later wife, Swedish-born Getrud Wysse Hägg (1912–2006). Wysse Hägg had trained at an arts and crafts school in Stockholm and, during the 1920s, had also studied graphic design at the Bauhaus in Germany, where she had first met Andreas Feininger. In Stockholm, she designed decor for the Swedish Gustavsberg porcelain factory, where her uncle Wilhelm Kåge was artistic director.

    In Stockholm Andreas Feininger tried to restart his architectural practice but soon began working as a professional photographer and receiving commissions. Besides architecture and industrial objects, he was also interested in the forms of nature and made technical experiments, making his own telephoto lens in 1934. With this lens, a new discovery of the city began. As the inequalities and different proportions between the architecture, the city and the human scale were less than with a normal camera lens, Andreas Feininger was able to capture the people and their surroundings in an equal perspective, which was much truer to reality, offering a new visual experience. After the outbreak of World War II, Feininger, as a foreigner, lost his work permit in Sweden. At the end of 1939, the family (Andreas and Wysse had married in 1933 and in 1935 their son Tom was born) decided to emigrate to New York, where his brother Lux Feininger had lived since 1936 and his parents Julia and Lyonel Feininger since 1937. As Lyonel Feininger had been born in New York, Andreas Feininger was half American and already had American citizenship before arriving in the metropolis, but as his mother was Jewish he was afraid of persecution.  

    The family initially lived in New York at the Hotel Earle in Washington Square and in 1940 moved to an apartment with a view of the Hudson River, at 365 West 20th Street, where they lived until the 1980s. During their early days there, Feininger photographed the apartment and the rooms he had transformed into a studio and darkroom. In January 1940 he began working for the Black Star photo agency, where many other émigré photographers had found work after their arrival (Walter Sanders, Fred Stein, Lilly Joss Reich, Fritz Henle, Carola Gregor, Ilse Bing, Werner Wolff, Ruth Bernhard). Andreas Feininger probably knew at least one of the three Black Star founders, Kurt Safranski, Kurt Kornfeld and Ernest Mayer, from his Berlin days and so was able to make contact with them in New York. As Andreas Feininger recounted in his autobiography In Retrospect (1988), the early days in New York were not easy. First, they had to learn a new language, he was the only member of the family in work and was not well paid by the photo agencies. In addition, most of his German photographic equipment was not compatible with the American system. Throughout his career as a photographer he was always on the lookout for new camera equipment and lenses and was very interested in unusual types, which he mostly found in second hand camera shops. One of these finds was a telephoto and wideangle lens, which he used for many of his New York images. Depending on subject and genre, he used different cameras, with or without a tripod.  

    In January 1941 Andreas Feininger’s contract with Black Star ended and, feeling exploited and underpaid, in 1942 he started to work as a retainer photographer, becoming in the same year a staff photographer at Life magazine, where he worked until his retirement in 1962. During these years he got more than 340 assignments and his images were printed in many different magazines and newspapers around the world. During the 1940s, with the help of his photojournalism network, he also published some of his photographs of Stockholm in Swedish newspapers and magazines.

    For commissions as well as in private sessions, Andreas Feininger soon began exploring New York City with his camera and started his photographic cartography of the metropolis. Fascinated by the contrasts of the city, the iron structures of the elevated railways and fire escapes, as well as the cultural diversity on the streets, he created his experimental views of New York. Besides the architecture, he was also interested in the graphical language and urban patterns of the city, as well as in its history, and collected old maps and prints. He meticulously marked on each of his contact sheets the exact address where the image was taken. During this time he developed a photographic knowledge of the city, photographing at different times of day and learning the perfect light conditions and best viewpoints in Manhattan. As well as photographing the inner city, he also tried to capture views of the city and its skyline, which he discovered from a distance. After a year in New York, the family could afford to buy a car and, while their son Tom was at school, Wysse and Andreas Feininger travelled out of Manhattan to New Jersey, where he took his first views of the city with a tele lens. Besides assisting her husband and acting as a model in some of his photos, Wysse Feininger began a career as a commercial artist and illustrator of children's books and, less frequently, as a clothing designer. However, from 1943, she mainly assisted her husband with his several hundred photo reportages, mainly for Life magazine. After Andreas Feininger's death, she curated exhibitions and administered his estate.

    In the April 1941 issue of Life, under the title “New York. A Big spectacle in big pictures” nine pages were devoted to a photographic essay featuring Andreas Feininger’s urban views (Life, 14 April 1941, pp. 86–95). The cover photo was by another émigré Life staff photographer, Walter Sanders, showing an unsual view with the American flag flying on a ship heading towards the Manhattan skyline. In 1945 Andreas Feininger published his New York images in the photobook New York (Ziff–Davis). He was well embedded in the New York photographic scene and a number of émigré colleagues, who probably knew him from Germany, made portraits of him. These included Fritz Neugass, Fritz Henle and Hermann Landshoff.

    It is known that he often used the Leco photofinishing service, founded by the émigré Leo Cohn and an important contact hub for photographers and editors, who would catch up on the latest news  while waiting for their prints to be developed. Besides his street and city images and commissioned work, Andreas Feininger also pursued a photographic interest in the phenomena of nature in his series and studies of plants and shells – a similar approach to that of émigré photographer Ruth Bernhard. During World War II, Andreas Feininger worked at the Office of War Information and was responsible for the photographic documentation of American war industries on the home front. As can be seen in his archived maps and folders and the travel souvenirs in his scrapbooks, the month-long trips took him all over the U.S and were mostly made by train since petrol was rationed during the war.

    From the 1930s Andreas Feininger also published technical texts and practical guides on photography. He had played a similar educational role during his exile in Stockholm. From the mid-1940s, besides in such magazines as Minicam, The Complete Photographer and U.S. Camera. His guides and text also appeared in Popular Photography. With the help of his own images, he mainly explained certain practical and technical photographic topics and problems. Between May and December 1949 he ran a serial feature dubbed “Feiniger’s Workshop” in Popular Photography, which appeared monthly and covered a number of themes: “Feininger’s Workshop- photo facts in pictures. Unsharpness and its cause” (May 1949) “Feininger’s Workshop – photo facts in pictures. The facts of about perspective” (June 1949) “Feininger’s Workshop – photo facts in pictures. Imaginative Print Control” (July 1949); “Feininger’s Workshop – photo facts in pictures. Controlling Those Verticals” (August 1949); “Feininger’s Workshop – photo facts in pictures. Texture Rendering with Light” (September 1949); “Feininger’s Workshop – photo facts in pictures. Halation, Flare and Stars” (October 1949); “Feininger’s Workshop – Testing Your Lens for Defects” (December 1949). Popular Photography was an important magazine for émigré photographers, who were able to publish both their images from their previous times in Europe as well as newer photographs from their exile in New York. Among the émigré photographers published were Lucien Aigner, Ruth Bernhard, Erwin Blumenfeld, Josef Breitenbach, Alexey Brodovitch, Rudy Burckhardt, Alfred Eisenstaedt, Philippe Halsman, Fritz Henle, Ruth Jacobi, Lilly Joss, Clemens Kalischer, George Karger, André Kértész, Hermann Landshoff, Lisa Larsen, Herbert Matter, Hansel Mieth, Lisette Model, Martin Munkacsi, Fritz Neugass, Walter Sanders, Kurt Safranski, Xanti Schawinsky, Rolf Tietgens, Werner Wolff, Roman Vishniac and Ylla.

    Besides his work for Popular Photography, Andreas Feininger also published more than 40 books, up until the 1980s. These included photographic handbooks as well as photobooks. His first book in the US as author was New Paths in Photography (American Photographic Publishing, 1939), followed by Feininger on Photography (Ziff-Davis, 1949), Advanced Photography (Prentice-Hall, 1952) and The Face of New York (Crown, 1954). Through his contact with Walter Heering, Andreas Feininger already had experience of writing about photography in Germany. From 1933 he wrote for Walter Heering’s magazine Foto-Beobachter and in 1934 published his first book Menschen vor der Kamera, on portrait photography. Although he had emigrated to Stockholm at the time, in 1936 and 1937, four books of his were published by the Heering Verlag publishing house with the help of Walter Heering:
    Vergrößern leicht gemacht, Motive im Gegenlicht, Selbst entwickeln und kopieren, Aufnahmetechnik, Fotografische Gestaltung (Walter Heering Verlag, 1937). Last but not least, in 1936 a photobook of his Stockholm images also appeared. A few books of these books were translated into English after his arrival in New York, among them Exakta. Ein Weg zu Foto-Neuland (Gerhard Isert Verlag, 1939) which appeared in its English edition New Paths in Photography (American Photographic Publishing, 1939).

    Despite his successful career as a photographer and the immense volume of published images and written works, Andreas Feininger had his first group show with In And out of Focus in 1948 at the Museum of Modern Art, with another, The Anatomy of Nature, at the American Museum of Natural History in 1957. Other émigré photographers who were represented at the exhibition In and Out of Focus were Josef Breitenbach, Marion Palfi, Fritz Goro (the husband of Carola Gregor), Lotte Jacobi, Lisette Model and Ylla.

    Word Count: 1962

  • Media:
    Portrait of Andreas Feininger by Fritz Henle, 1940/41 (© Center for Creative Photography, University of Arizona: Andreas Feininger Archive, Photo: Helene Roth).
    Andreas Feininger, 1, Stockholm, 1937 (© Center for Creative Photography, University of Arizona: Andreas Feininger Archive, Photo: Helene Roth).
    Andreas Feininger, Close Up Equipment, 365 West 20 St. New York, 1940 (© Center for Creative Photography, University of Arizona: Andreas Feininger Archive, Photo: Helene Roth).
    Andreas Feininger, “An Amateur’s Wartime Darkroom.” U.S. Camera, April 1942, pp. 28–29 (Photo: Helene Roth).
    Scrapbook of Andreas Feininger with photographic essay “New York. A big spectacle in big pictures.” Life, 14 April 1941, pp. 86–87 (© Center for Creative Photography, University of Arizona: Andreas Feininger Archive, Photo: Helene Roth).
    Scrapbook of Andreas Feininger with article and photographs by him. “Experimenting with Lights at Night.” Popular Photography, February 1947, pp. 44–45 (© Center for Creative Photography, University of Arizona: Andreas Feininger Archive, Photo: Helene Roth).
    “Feininger’s Workshop - photo facts in pictures. Unsharpness and its cause.” Popular Photography, May 1949, pp.54–55 (Photo: Helene Roth).
  • Bibliography (selected):

    Andreas Feininger. Early Work (The Archive, Research Series, no. 17). Center for Creative Photography, 1983.

    Displaced Visions. Émigré Photographers of the 20th Century, edited by Nissan N. Perez, exh. cat. The Israel Museum, Jerusalem, 2013.

    Feininger – Vater und Söhne, exh. cat. Städtische Galerie Karlsruhe, Karlsruhe, 2001.

    Feininger, Andreas. “New York. A big spectacle in big pictures.” Life, 14 April 1941, pp. 86–95.

    Feininger, Andreas. “An Amateur’s Wartime Darkroom.” U.S. Camera, April 1942, pp.28–29.

    Feininger, Andreas. New York. Ziff-Davis Publishing Company, 1945.

    Feininger, Andreas. “Experimenting with Lights at Night.” Popular Photography, February 1947, pp. 44–47; 188-189.

    Feininger, Andreas. “Feininger’s Workshop - photo facts in pictures. Unsharpness and its cause.” Popular Photography, May 1949, pp.54–55.

    Feininger, Andreas. In Retrospect. (unpublished autobiography, Center for Creative Photography, The University of Arizona, Tucson, 1989), AG 53:13.

    Gervais, Thierry. The Making of Visual News. A History of Photography in the Press. Translated by John Tittenson, Bloomsbury, 2017.

    Gilbert, George. The Illustrated Worldwide Who’s Who of Jews in Photography. G. Gilbert, 1996.

    Hicks, Wilson. Words and Pictures (The Literature of Photography). Arno Press, 1973.

    Krohn, Claus-Dieter, et al., editors. Exilforschung. Ein internationales Jahrbuch, vol. 21: Film und Fotografie. edition text + kritik, 2003.

    Morris, John Godfrey. Get the Picture. A Personal History of Photojournalism. University of Chicago Press, 2002.

    New York. Capital of Photography, edited by Max Kozloff, exh. cat. Jewish Museum, New York, 2002.

    Schaber, Irme. “Fotografie.” Handbuch der deutschsprachigen Emigration 1933–1945, edited by Claus-Dieter Krohn and Patrick von zur Mühlen, WBG, 1998, pp. 970–983.

    Schaber, Irme. “‘Die Kamera ist ein Instrument der Entdeckung…’. Die Großstadtfotografie der fotografischen Emigration in der NS-Zeit in Paris, London und New York.” Exilforschung. Ein internationales Jahrbuch, vol. 20: Mi]Metropolen des Exils[/i], edited by Claus-Dieter Krohn et al., edition text + kritik, 2002, pp. 53–73.

    Smith, C. Zoe. “Émigré photography in America: contributions of German photojournalism from Black Star Picture Agency to Life magazine, 1933–1938.” (unpublished dissertation, School of Journalism in the Graduate College of the University of Iowa, Iowa City, December 1983).

    Smith, C. Zoe. “Black Star Picture Agency: Life’s European Connection.” Journalism History, vol. 13, no. 1, 1986, pp. 19–25.

    Smith, C. Zoe. “Die Bildagentur ‘Black Star’. Inspiration für eine neue Magazinfotografie in den USA.” Kommunikation visuell. Das Bild als Forschungsgegenstand – Grundlagen und Perspektiven, edited by Thomas Knieper and Marion G. Müller, Herbert von Halem, 2001, pp. 240–249.

    Klaus Honnef and Frank Weyers Und sie haben Deutschland verlassen … müssen. Fotografen und ihre Bilder 1928–1997, exh. cat. Rheinisches Landesmuseum Bonn, Bonn, 1997.

    Werneburg, Brigitte. “LIFE: Leben in der Emigration. Deutsche Fotojournalisten in Amerika.” (unpublished manuscript, 1991).

    Word Count: 400

  • Archives and Sources:

    Word Count: 41

  • Acknowledgements:

    My deepest thanks go to the Center for Creative Photography, University of Arizona for providing me entry to the Andreas Feininger archive and granting me image permission.

    Word Count: 27

  • Author:
    Helene Roth
  • Exile:

    Paris, France (1932-1933); Stockholm, Sweden (1933–1939); New York, US (1939–1999).

  • Known addresses in Metromod cities:

    365 West 20th Street, Chelsea, New York City (residence and studio, 1939–1981); 420 Lexington Avenue, Black Star Agency, Midtown Manhattan, New York (19 5 East 22nd Street, Flatiron District, New York City (residence and studio, 1981–1999).

  • Metropolis:
    New York
  • Helene Roth. "Andreas Feininger." METROMOD Archive, 2021, https://archive.metromod.net/viewer.p/69/2948/object/5138-8099800, last modified: 14-09-2021.
  • Hermann Landshoff
    Photographer

    Besides outdoor fashion shots, Hermann Landshoff was a portrait and street photographer. During his time in New York, he captured the cultural, artistic and intellectual émigré scene as well as his photographer colleagues.

    Word Count: 33

    Hermann Landshoff, Selfportrait, New York 1942 (© bpk / Münchner Stadtmuseum, Sammlung Fotografie / Archiv Landshoff).
    Hermann Landshoff, Die Fotografin Lisette Model, New York 1948 (© bpk / Münchner Stadtmuseum, Sammlung Fotografie / Archiv Landshoff).Hermann Landshoff, Der Grafikdesigner, Fotograf und Art Director Alexey Brodovitch in seiner Wohnung, 1942–45, New York (© bpk / Münchner Stadtmuseum, Sammlung Fotografie / Archiv Landshoff).
    New York
    Walter Sanders
    Photographer

    Walter Sanders was a German émigré photographer. In 1938 he arrived in New York, where he worked from 1939 until the end of his life for the Black Star agency and, from 1944, for Life magazine.

    Word Count: 33

    Portrait of Walter Sanders, Cuba, Havana, 1938 (Estate Walter Sanders).
    Walt Sanders and Alfred Kornfeld, son of Black Star cofounder Kurt Kornfeld. Sheldrake Lake, New Rochelle, NY, November 1939 (© Heirs of Kurt Kornfeld).First cover by Walter Sanders for Life, 26 June 1939 (Estate Walter Sanders).Letterhead with name Walter Suessmann, a reference to Echo and an address (Estate Walter Sanders).Photo of the Aquacade swim show by Walter Sanders for Black Star, reproduced in Life, 3 July 1939, p. 60 (Estate Walter Sanders, Photo: Helene Roth).“Life goes to The Futurama.” Image of the General Motors Show by Walter Sanders in Life, 5 June 1939, p. 79 (Estate Walter Sanders, Photo: Helene Roth).“Life visits Statue of Liberty.” Images by Walter Sanders published in Life, 2 June 1941, pp. 94–95 (Estate Walter Sanders, Photo: Helene Roth).“Por las entrañas de una estatua.”. Images by Walter Sanders, MUNDO Argentino, June 1941 (Estate Walter Sanders, Photo: Helene Roth).“The Road Back to Berlin.” Images and text by Walter Sanders in Life, 10 November 1946, p. 29 (Estate Walter Sanders, Photo: Helene Roth).Americans in Heidelberg, Life cover, Image by Walter Sanders, Life, 21 July 1947 (Estate Walter Sanders, Photo: Helene Roth).
    New York
    Kurt Safranski
    Picture AgentFounding MemberTeacherCartoonistPublisherIllustrator

    Kurt Safranski was one of the founding members of the Black Star photo agency, a teacher at the New School for Social Research and the author of photojournalistic articles and books.

    Word Count: 31

    Portrait of Kurt Safranski with his wife Maria and daughter Tina Safranski, photographer unknown, n.d. (© Heirs of Kurt Safranski).
    Cover of Selling Your Pictures by Kurt Safranski (Ziff Davis Publishing Company, 1940).Kurt Safranski “Backgrounds.” Minicam Photography, July 1945, pp. 52–53 (Photo: Helene Roth).Kurt Safranski. “Dr. Salomon.” Popular Photography, August 1948, pp. 56–57.Announcement of "Pictorial Journalism" course by Kurt Safranski in New School Bulletin, vol. 2, no. 9, 1944, p. 84 (© New School course catalog collection, NS-05-01-01. The New School Archives).Werner Wolff, K.S. Safranski’s Class in Pictorial Journalism, 1950 (New School for Research Archive, Photograph Collection © Steven Wolff).Announcement of "Pictorial Journalism. Photographs as a Language and their special Problems" course by Kurt Safranski at the New School for Social Research, Spring 1949 (© The New School Archives and Special Collection, The New School, New York).
    New York
    Ruth Bernhard
    Photographer

    Ruth Bernhard was a German émigré photographer who lived in New York from the 1920s to the 1940s. Beside her series on female nudes, her place in the photography network, as well as in the New York queer scene, is unknown and understudied.

    Word Count: 43

    Lotte Jacobi, Ruth Bernhard, 1945, New York (© 2021. University of New Hampshire).
    Scrapbook and published work by Ruth Bernhard (Ruth Bernhard Archive, Special Collection Princeton University © Trustees of Princeton University).Lifesavers by Ruth Bernhard, published in Advertisment Arts, January 1931 (Ruth Bernhard Archive, Special Collection Princeton University © Trustees of Princeton University).Still Life of dolls for Macy’s by Ruth Bernhard, published in Graphic Arts, 1931 (Ruth Bernhard Archive, Special Collection Princeton University © Trustees of Princeton University).Ruth Bernhard, Eighth Street Movie Theater, Frederick Kiesler-Architect, New York, 1946 (Diversity Corner is licensed under CC BY-NC 2.0).Exhibition flyer for Ruth Bernhard Photographs, PM Gallery, 1938 (Ruth Bernhard Archive, Special Collection Princeton University © Trustees of Princeton University).Description of Ruth Bernhard Photographs exhibition, by Kurt Safranski, PM Gallery, 1938 (Ruth Bernhard Archive, Special Collection Princeton University © Trustees of Princeton University).
    New York
    Lisette Model
    Photographer

    Lisette Model was an Austrian-born photographer who lived in New York with her husband Evsa Model after emigrating from France. Her street photographs capturing the curiosities of everyday life quickly caught the interest of museums and magazines.

    Word Count: 37

    Hermann Landshoff, Die Fotografin Lisette Model, New York 1948 (© bpk / Münchner Stadtmuseum, Sammlung Fotografie / Archiv Landshoff).
    Lisette Model at New School by Joe Covello, 1960s, New School for Research Archive, Photograph Collection, NS.04.01.01:16 (© The New School Archives and Special Collection, The New School, New York, NY).Announcement of "The Small Camera In Photography Today" course by Lisette Model. New School Bulletin. Art Classes, vol. 9, no. 2, September 1951, front cover and p. 34 (© New School course catalog collection, NS-05-01-01. The New School Archives).Lisette Model's naturalisation papers. New York, Southern District, U.S District Court Naturalization Records, 1824–1946. Petitions for naturalization and petition evidence 1944 box 942, no 490001-490300 > image 702 of 1406; citing NARA microfilm publication M1972 (Family Research. © Southern District of New York Petitions for Naturalization, 1897–1944. Records of District Courts of the United States, 1685–2009, RG 21. National Archives at New York).Page with photos of the apartments at 55 Grove Street and 137 7th Avenue, published in Le Pommeré, 2010, pp. 58–59 (Photo: Helene Roth).
    New York
    Fred Stein
    PhotographerLawyer

    Always accompanied by his camera, the German émigré photographer Fred Stein discovered New York City during the 1940s and 1950s. His pictures provide an human and multifaceted view of the metropolis.

    Word Count: 31

    Fred Stein, Self-portrait, 1941 (© Fred Stein Archive).
    Fred Stein, El at Water Street, 1946 (© Fred Stein Archive).Portrait Alvin Saunders Johnson by Fred Stein, New School for Research Archive, Photograph Collection (© Fred Stein Archive). Children Photographs exhibition by Fred Stein, April 1947 (© Fred Stein Archive).Affidavit in Lieu of Passport (© Fred Stein Archive).Fred Stein, Anette Kolb, New York, 1945 (© Fred Stein Archive).Fritz Neugass. “The saga of the S.S. Winnipeg.” Modern Photography, July 1951, pp. 72–73 (Photo: Helene Roth).Black Star contract by Fred Stein, April 1, 1944 (© Fred Stein Archive).New York 1949 calendar by Fred Stein, Lumen Publisher (© Fred Stein Archive).Mixed articles and reviews on 5th Avenue photobook form Fred Stein's scrapbook (© Fred Stein Archive).Portrait of Fritz H. Landshoff (of Querido Publishing House) by Fred Stein, 1944 (© Fred Stein Archive).Portrait of Kurt Wolff (of publishing house Pantheon Books) by Fred Stein, 1959 (© Fred Stein Archive).Announcement by Pantheon Books from Fred Stein’s scrapbook (© Fred Stein Archive).Rapho Guillumette agency letter to Fred Stein, 1944 (© Fred Stein Archive).Cover of 5th Avenue photobook (Pantheon Books, 1947) by Fred Stein (© Fred Stein Archive).
    New York
    Alexey Brodovitch
    PhotographerArt DirectorGraphic Designer

    Alexey Brodovitch was a Belarus-born émigré graphic artist, art director and photographer who, from 1933, worked in New York for Harper’s Bazaar magazine and at the New School for Social Research.

    Word Count: 31

    Hermann Landshoff, Der Grafikdesigner, Fotograf und Art Director Alexey Brodovitch in seiner Wohnung, 1942–45, New York (© bpk / Münchner Stadtmuseum, Sammlung Fotografie / Archiv Landshoff).
    Announcement of Alexey Brodovitch “Advertising Design” course at the Pennsylvanian Museum School for Industrial Art (The Philadelphia Inquirer, 24 September 1933, p. 30).Announcement of the Design Laboratory by Alexey Brodovitch at the New School of Social Research (© Clara Meyer Papers. Brodovitch, Alexey, 1949-1959, Box: 1, Folder: 35. The New School Archives).Announcement of "Art Applied to Graphic Journalism, Advertising, Design, Fashion" course by Alexey Brodovitch, published in New School Bulletin. Art Classes, 1942/43, p. 11 (© New School course catalog collection, NS-05-01-01. The New School Archives).Cover of Ballet by Alexey Brodovitch (J.J. Augustin, 1945).Design of a lamp by Alexey Brodovitch (St. Louis Post Dispatch, 25 March 1951, p. 103).
    New York
    Rolf Tietgens
    PhotographerEditorWriter

    Rolf Tietgens was a German émigré photographer who arrived in New York in 1938. Although, in the course of his photographic career, his artistic and surrealist images were published and shown at exhibitions, his work, today, is very little known.

    Word Count: 39

    Portrait of Rolf Tietgens, n.d. (© Keith de Lellis Gallery, New York).
    Der Hafen by Rolf Tietgens, Ehrmann Verlag, 1936.Rolf Tietgens. “What is Surrealism?” Minicam, July 1939, pp. 30–31 (Photo: Helene Roth).Photo by Rolf Tietgens of Streamliners at the World’s Fair published in the World's Fair special issue of U.S. Camera, August 1939, p. 45 (Photo: Helene Roth).Photo by Rolf Tietgens of the Communication Mall at the World’s Fair 1939 published in the World's Fair special issue of U.S. Camera, August 1939, p. 38 (Photo: Helene Roth).Rolf Tietgens. “Capture the ‘Life’ of the object.” Minicam, January 1940, pp. 46–47 (Photo: Helene Roth).Rolf Tietgens. “Capture the ‘Life’ of the object.” Minicam, January 1940, pp. 48–49 (Photo: Helene Roth).Felix Kraus. "Why Photographers experiment." Popular Photography, February 1945, pp. 28–29 (Photo: Helene Roth).Hans Arp. Human Concretion, 1935, limestone 73 x 49,5 x 45 cm, photograph by Rolf Tietgens and reproduced in Arp: On My Way. Poetry and Essays 1912–1947, edited by Robert Motherwell, Wittenborn, Schulz, 1948, pp. 130–131 (Photo: Helene Roth).Published photo by Rolf Tietgens (Feininger 1952, 116–117).Times Square. U.S.A. (1952) photobook by Rolf Tietgens, Keith de Lellis Gallery, 1992 (Photo: Helene Roth).
    New York
    Marion Palfi
    Photographer

    Marion Palfi was a German émigré photographer who lived in New York from the 1940s to the 1960s. Her photographic engagement in social and political topics made her name for her use of the camera to draw attention to social injustices.

    Word Count: 41

    Selfportrait of Marion Palfi (© Center for Creative Photography, University of Arizona: Marion Palfi Archive).
    Advertisement “Ein bischen tätige Liebe” for a cigarette brand with photograph of Marion Palfi and Aribert Mog (1904–1941). Modenschau. Illustrierte Monats-Zeitschrift für Heim und Gesellschaft, no. 202, October 1929, p. 43.Cover of Ebony with photograph by Marion Palfi (Ebony, 1 November 1945).Review of Marion Palfi's Suffer Little Children by Eleanor Roosevelt published in Des Moines Tribune, 10 December 1952, p. 20.Article on Marion Palfi in Aufbau magazin (Craemer 1949).Cover of Suffer Little Children by Marion Palfi (Oceana Publications, 1952).Announcement of Marion Palfi’s course at the New School for Social Research. New School for Bulletin, vol. 17, no. 2, 2 September 1959, p. 46 (© New School course catalog collection, NS-05-01-01. The New School Archives).
    New York
    Ernest Nash
    PhotographerArchaeologistLawyer

    Ernest Nash was a German born photographer, who pursued his photographic as well as an archeologic interest in Roman architecture after his emigration to New York in 1939. Besides this research interest, he also worked as a portrait photographer and publisher.

    Word Count: 40

    Portrait of Ernest Nash, Neapel, 3/4 march 1939 (© Bildarchiv Ernest Nash, Goethe-Universität, Frankfurt am Main).
    Announcement of Roman Towns by Ernest Nash (J.J. Augustin, 1944).Announcement of Roman Towns by Ernest Nash (J.J. Augustin, 1944).First page of Roman Towns by Ernest Nash, J.J. Augustin, 1944 (Photo: Helene Roth).Page of Roman Towns by Ernest Nash, J.J. Augustin, 1944. Left side: New York, Columbia University. Right side: Rome, Pantheon (Photo: Helene Roth).Page of Roman Towns by Ernest Nash, J.J. Augustin, 1944. Left side: New York, U.S. Sub-Treasury Building. Right side: Paestum, Temple of Neptune (Photo: Helene Roth).Ernest Nash, New York, Washington Square, 1939 (© Bildarchiv Ernest Nash, Goethe-Universität, Frankfurt am Main).Ernest Nash, New York, United States Subtreasury Building, 1939 (© Bildarchiv Ernest Nash, Goethe-Universität, Frankfurt am Main).Ernest Nash, Burns Bros on the East River, New York, 1939 (© Bildarchiv Ernest Nash, Goethe-Universität, Frankfurt am Main).Ernest Nash, Portrait of Béla Bartók, New York, between late 1940 and 1945 (© Bildarchiv Ernest Nash, Goethe-Universität, Frankfurt am Main).Ernest Nash, Portrait of Ditta Bartók-Pásztory, New York, between late 1940 and 1945 (© Bildarchiv Ernest Nash, Goethe-Universität, Frankfurt am Main).Ernest Nash, New York World’s Fair 1939, Perisphere (© Bildarchiv Ernest Nash, Goethe-Universität, Frankfurt am Main).Ernest Nash, New York, World’s Fair 1939, Constitution Mall, Trylon and Perisphere (© Bildarchiv Ernest Nash, Goethe-Universität, Frankfurt am Main).Information by J.J. Augustin about the new release of Roman Towns by Ernest Nash (J.J. Augustin, 1944).
    New York
    Lilo Hess
    Photographer

    The German émigré Lilo Hess was an animal photographer working for the Museum for Natural History and the Bronx Zoo, as well being a freelance photographer and publisher of children's books.

    Word Count: 31

    Portrait of Lilo Hess (Commire 1973, p. 112).
    Portrait of Lilo Hess – Life, 6 September 1943, p. 21 (Photo: Helene Roth).Photography by Lilo Hess – Fotografische Rundschau, vol. 72, 1935, p. 323 (Photo: Helene Roth).Book cover Odd Pets (Crowell, 1951).Front of the book Odd Pets (Crowell, 1951).Inside of the book Odd Pets (Crowell, 1951).Photo of drinking gibbons at the Bronx Zoo, photographed by Lilo Hess (Life, 13 December 1948, p. 126).
    New York
    Ruth Jacobi
    Photographer

    Ruth Jacobi was a German-speaking, Polish-born photographer who emigrated in 1935 to New York, where she opened a studio together with her sister Lotte Jacobi. She later had her own portrait studio.

    Word Count: 31

    Lotte Jacobi, Ruth Jacobi mit Brille, c. 1935, New York (© 2021. University of New Hampshire).
    Lotte Jacobi, Ruth Jacobi, c. 1935, New York (© 2021. University of New Hampshire).A Study in Doll Heads by Ruth Jacobi-Roth published in "Salon Section. Four Of A Kind." Popular Photography, December 1937, p. 48 (Photo: Helene Roth).Sisters by Ruth Jacobi-Roth for the "Salon Section. Twins." Popular Photography, February 1938, pp. 46–47 (Photo: Helene Roth).Ruth Jacobi-Roth, Grapes, published in the “Picture of the Months” section of Popular Photography, March 1938, p. 42 (Photo: Helene Roth).Ruth Jacobi-Roth, Doll, published in "Salon Section." Popular Photography, March 1938, p. 53 (Photo: Helene Roth).Montage of three pelicans by Ruth Jacobi-Roth published in "Salon Section 1-2-3." Popular Photography, March 1939, p. 47 (Photo: Helene Roth).Head by Ruth Jacobi-Roth published in Maloney 1940, p. 138 (Photo: Helene Roth).Hafen-Romantik und Wolkenkratzer (image by Jacobi, Berlin) and Schönheit der Wolkenkratzer (image by E.O. Hoppé, Mauritius) in New York, published in Leitich 1932, pp. 14–15 (Archive Helene Roth).Das arme New York (image by Jacobi, Berlin); Trödelladen im Italienerviertel (image by Scherl) New York, published in Leitich 1932, pp. 56–57 (Archive Helene Roth).Medical Center, die größte Klinik der Welt (am oberen Hudson) (image by Presse-Photo, Berlin); Tausendäugige Häuserfront (image by Jacobi, Berlin), New York, published in Leitich 1932, pp. 48–49 (Archive Helene Roth).Ruhepause bei den Grabsteinen der Trinity Church (image by Scherl); Auch ein Platz für Mittagsruhe (image by Jacobi, Berlin); Orangedrink nach heißer Bahnhfahrt (image by Ewing Galloway, N.Y); Ein Fünfcentstück öffnet die Drehtür zur Untergrundbahn (image by Ewing Galloway, N.Y), published in Leitich 1932, pp. 16–17 (Archive Helene Roth).
    New York
    Fritz Henle
    Photographer

    Fritz Henle was a German Jewish photographer who emigrated in 1936 to New York, where he worked as a photojournalist for various magazines. He also published several photobooks of his travels throughout North America and Asia.

    Word Count: 35

    Portrait of Fritz Henle by Herbert Matter, New York, 1937 (© Estate Fritz Henle).
    Fritz Henle, New York at Night, New York, 1936–1950s' (© 2021. Fritz Henle Estate).Fritz Henle, New York Reflections, New York, 1936–1950s' (© 2021. Fritz Henle Estate).Fritz Henle, The L Train on Wall Street, New York, 1936–1950s' (© 2021. Fritz Henle Estate).Fritz Henle, Brooklyn Bridge and Baby Carriage, New York, 1936's-1950 (© 2021.Fritz Henle Estate)Fritz Henle, New York Skaters from the RCA Building, New York, 1936–1950s' (© 2021. Fritz Henle Estate).Fritz Henle, New York Art Critic at Washington Square, New York, 1936–1950s' (© 2021. Fritz Henle Estate).“The American Legion takes New York City.” Life, 4 October 1937, pp. 24f.Photographs by Fritz Henle for the reportage “Memo to: Walter Wander, Subject: 52nd Street.” Life, 29 November 1937, pp. 64–67 (Photo: Helene Roth).Cover of Paris photobook by Fritz Henle (Ziff Davis, 1947).“Men who love Paris. Fritz Henle and Elliot Paul combine pictures and text in a handsome book about their favorite city.” Popular Photography, January 1947, pp. 60–61.Norris Harkness. "Simplicity. Fritz Henle’s fashion shots prove that the easy way is often the most effective." Popular Photography, August 1944, pp. 36–37.Victor Kepler. “There’s adventure in night photography.” Popular Photography, August 1942, pp. 28–29.Cover of Fritz Henle’s rollei (Hastings House, 1950).Cover photo by Fritz Henle, Life, 30 July 1939.
    New York
    Kurt Kornfeld
    PublisherPicture AgentFounding Member

    Kurt Kornfeld was a publisher and literary agent and a founding member of the Black Star photo agency in New York City after his emigration in 1936 to New York.

    Word Count: 29

    Portrait of Kurt Kornfeld, 2 May 1938, New York (© Heirs of Kurt Kornfeld).
    Visitenkarte von Kurt A. Kornfeld, Black Star, Strand Palace Hotel, London an Erich Salomon, n.d (Erich Salomon Archiv, © Sammlung Berlinische Galerie, Erworben durch das Land Berlin aus Mitteln des Bundesministeriums des Innern, Bonn, 1980, Repro: Anja Elisabeth Witte).
    New York
    Ernest Mayer
    Picture AgentFounding MemberPublisher

    Ernest Mayer was co-founder of the Black Star Publishing Company photo agency, which built a network for émigré photographers and the American magazine scene from the mid-1930s until the end of the 1950s.

    Word Count: 34

    Portrait of Ernest Mayer at the Black Star Office, December 1936, New York (© Heirs of Kurt Kornfeld).
    Signature by Ernest Mayer in a letter to Fred Stein (© Fred Stein Archive).Walt Sanders and Alfred Kornfeld, son of Black Star cofounder Kurt Kornfeld. Sheldrake Lake, New Rochelle, NY, November 1939 (© Heirs of Kurt Kornfeld).
    New York
    Ruth Staudinger
    PhotographerCinematographerArt dealer

    Very few and only fragmentary details can be found on the German émigré photographer Ruth Staudinger, who emigrated in the mid-1930s to New York City. Her nomadic life was also characterisedd by several changes of name along the way.

    Word Count: 40

    Hassoldt Davis (?), Ruth Staudinger Davis holds the mummified head of an executed Indochines (Davis, 1952, 22).
    Ruth Staudinger Rozaffy, Going on duty, 1939 (Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, Photographs and Prints Division, The New York Public Library Digital Collections).Page with collected addresses of colleagues at the New School for Social Research in New York by Josef Breitenbach (© The Josef and Yaye Breitenbach Charitable Foundation, courtesy of The Center for Creative Photography, Josef Breitenbach Archive, AG90:6).Ruth Staudinger Rozaffy, New York Bedtime, published in U.S. Camera 1940, p. 129 (Photo: Helene Roth).Ruth Staudinger Rozaffy, More Fun Than Circus, published in U.S. Camera 1940, p. 130 (Photo: Helene Roth).Ruth Staudinger Rozaffy, Girls from telephone company taking exercises in American Woman’s Association Gym, published in U.S. Camera 1940, p. 178 (Photo: Helene Roth).“Wiltwyck – Why Harlme Boys Learn Manhood” article with images by Ruth Staudinger Rozaffy (Anonymous 1941, 18–19).Article on Ruth Staudinger and Hassoldt Davis (Desfor 1951, 33).Cover of The Jungle and the Damned (Davis, 1952) (Photo: Helene Roth).First page of The Jungle and the Damned (Davis 1952) (Photo: Helene Roth).First page of Scorcerer’s Village, published by Hassoldt Davis and Ruth Staudinger-Davis, Duell Sloan and Pearce, 1956 (Photo: Helene Roth).
    New York
    Carola Gregor
    PhotographerSculptor

    The German émigré photographer Carola Gregor was an animal and child photographer and published some of her work in magazines and books. Today her work and life are almost forgotten.

    Word Count: 30

    Portrait of Carola Gregor (cutout of her papers of naturalisation).
    Petitions for naturalization from the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York of Carola Gregor (Naturalizations, box 1018-1020, cert. no. 513486-513958, 9-12 Apr 1945, Records of District Courts of the United States, 1685 - 2009, RG 21. National Archives at New York, familysearch.org).Homer- The Hydrophobic Duck by Carola Gregor published in U.S. Camera 1943, p. 63 (Photo: Helene Roth).Portrait of Fritz Goro by Carola Gregor, published in Life, 13 September 1937, p. 104 (Photo: Helene Roth).Photograph of Amazonian birds by Carola Gregor for the brochure Pavilhão do Brasil. Feira Mundial de Nova York de 1939, pp. 11–12 (Photo: Helene Roth).Mending Nets by Carola Gregor, published in Popular Photography, October 1942, p. 40 (Photo: Helene Roth).A gleaming spider by Carola Gregor, published in Popular Photography, August 1948, pp. 81–82 (Photo: Helene Roth).Reportage “Liger. A lion and a tigress produce a new kind of zoo baby” with images by Carola Gregor, published in Life, 20 September 1948, p. 109 (Photo: Helene Roth).Reportage “Liger. A lion and a tigress produce a new kind of zoo baby” with images by Carola Gregor, published in Life, 20 September 1948, pp. 111–112 (Photo: Helene Roth).War Manpower Commission. Farm labor poster distributed to Department of Agriculture. Photograph by Carola Gregor (Library of Congress, Prints & Photographs Division, Farm Security Administration/Office of War Information Black-and-White Negatives).
    New York
    Rudy Burckhardt
    PhotographerFilmmakerPainter

    Rudy Burckhardt was a Swiss-born photographer, filmmaker and painter who emigrated from Basle to New York City in 1935. He was well networked within the emerging Abstract Expressionist art scene of 1940s' and 50s'.

    Word Count: 33

    Rudy Burckhardt, Selftportrait, New York 1937 (© VG Bild-Kunst, Bonn 2021).
    Announcement for an exhibition by Rudy Burkhardt at the Photo League Gallery in Brooklyn Eagle, 30 September 1948, p. 18.Jaqueline Judge. “Rudi Burckhardt … photographer of everyday life.” Popular Photography, January 1949, pp. 52–53 (Photo: Helene Roth).Rudy Burckhardt, Portrait of the painter Willem de Kooning, New York 1937/38 (© VG Bild-Kunst, Bonn 2021).Rudy Burckhardt, Building Front Detail with Acanthus Molding in Doorway, New York City, 1938 (© VG Bild-Kunst, Bonn 2021).
    New York
    T. Lux Feininger
    PhotographerPainter

    Lux T. Feininger was a German-American émigré photographer and painter and the brother of the photographer Andreas Feininger, arriving in 1936 in New York. Although he started taking photographs during the 1920s in Germany, Feininger is better known for his career as a painter and his photographic work is largely unacknowledged.

    Word Count: 50

    T. Lux Feininger, Selfportrait in 511 East 85 Street, 1937, New York (© The Estate of T. Lux Feininger, Repro: www.Kunst-Archive.net).Announcement of an exhibition at the MINT Museum of Art showing works by Lyonel, Andreas as well as T. Lux Feininger. The Charlotte News, 24 December 1955, p. 17 (Photo: Helene Roth).Announcement of an exhibition of T. Lux Feininger’s photographs at the Prakapas Gallery. The New York Times, 17 June 1983, p. c12 (Photo: Helene Roth).Article on the 1930s Bauhaus Photography exhibition, where also works by T. Lux Feininger were shown. The Boston Globe, 14 June 1984, p. 52 (Photo: Helene Roth).
    New York
    Henry Rox
    PhotographerSculptor

    Henry Rox was a German émigré sculptor and photographer who, in 1938, arrived in New York with his wife, the journalist and art historian Lotte Rox (née Charlotte Fleck), after an initial exile in London. Besides his work as a sculptor, he began creating humorous anthropomorphised fruit and vegetable photographs.

    Word Count: 50

    Portrait of Henry Rox published in Life, June 1941, pp. 11 (Photo: Helene Roth).
    Cover of Banana Circus by Henry Rox and Margaret Fisher (G.P. Putnam’s Sons, 1940).Inside view of Banana fakir Bim in Banana Circus by Henry Rox and Margaret Fisher (G.P. Putnam’s Sons, 1940).Inside view of strong Banana man Tim in Banana Circus by Henry Rox and Margaret Fisher (G.P. Putnam’s Sons, 1940).Henry Rox fruit and vegetable photo models published in "Speaking of Pictures ... These Are Table-Top Photographs.“ Life, 18. November 1940, pp. 12–13 (Photo: Helene Roth).“Speaking of Pictures … Fruit Figures Make A New Kind Of Cartoon Strip.” Life, June 1941, pp. 10–11 (Photo: Helene Roth).“Sculpture you could eat.” Detroit Free Press, 17 December 1944, pp. 18–19 (Photo: Helene Roth).“Sculpture you could eat.” Detroit Free Press, 17 December 1944, pp. 20–21 (Photo: Helene Roth).Cover photo by Henry Fox for Family Circle, February 1958 (Photo: Helene Roth).Postcard with fruit and vegetable sculpture by Henry Rox. Rox Karte Serie 158/3 (Archive Helene Roth).Postcard with fruit and vegetable sculpture by Henry Rox. Rox Karte Serie 158/6 (Archive Helene Roth).Postcard with fruit sculpture by Henry Rox as advertisement of the vitatonin C drink (Archive Helene Roth).
    New York
    New York
    BookPhotobook

    In 1932, after her remigration to Vienna, the Austrian journalist Ann Tizia Leitich published New York, an account of her life and writing experiences started as an emigrant in New York in the 1920s.

    Word Count: 33

    Book cover of New York , edited by Ann Tizia Leitich, Velhagen & Klasing, 1932 (Archive Helene Roth).
    Ruhepause bei den Grabsteinen der Trinity Church (image by Scherl); Auch ein Platz für Mittagsruhe (image by Jacobi, Berlin); Orangedrink nach heißer Bahnhfahrt (image by Ewing Galloway, N.Y); Ein Fünfcentstück öffnet die Drehtür zur Untergrundbahn (image by Ewing Galloway, N.Y), published in Leitich 1932, pp. 16–17 (Archive Helene Roth).Medical Center, die größte Klinik der Welt (am oberen Hudson) (image by Presse-Photo, Berlin); Tausendäugige Häuserfront (image by Jacobi, Berlin), New York, published in Leitich 1932, pp. 48–49 (Archive Helene Roth).Hafen-Romantik und Wolkenkratzer (image by Jacobi, Berlin) and Schönheit der Wolkenkratzer (image by E.O. Hoppé, Mauritius) in New York, published in Leitich 1932, pp. 14–15 (Archive Helene Roth).Das arme New York (image by Jacobi, Berlin); Trödelladen im Italienerviertel (image by Scherl) New York, published in Leitich 1932, pp. 56–57 (Archive Helene Roth).Dachgarten; Sitzplatz; Terrassengarten (images by Richard Averill Smith, New York), New York, published in Leitich 1932, pp. 38–39 (Archive Helene Roth).
    New York
    Chinatown U.S.A.
    Photobook

    Chinatown U.S.A. is a photobook published by the German émigré photographer Elizabeth Coleman in 1946 focusing on American-Chinese communities in New York and San Francisco.

    Word Count: 26

    Cover of Chinatown U.S.A., by Elizabeth Coleman (The John Day Company, 1946).
    Front page of Chinatown U.S.A, edited by Elizabeth Coleman, The John Day Company, 1946 (Archive Helene Roth)."Learning to read and write English in Public school ... and Chinese in Chinese school." Chinatown U.S.A., by Elizabeth Coleman (The John Day Company, 1946).Last page of Chinatown U.S.A., by Elizabeth Coleman (The John Day Company, 1946).Review of Chinatown U.S.A. in The Pittsburg Press, 25 August 1946, p. 46.Review of Chinatown U.S.A in Popular Photography, October 1946, p. 184.
    New York
    New York World's Fair postcard View of the Constitution Mall looking toward statue of George Washington and Trylon and Perisphere
    Postcard

    Shortly after the arrival in New York in 1939, photographs by the German émigré Ernest Nash were used and reproduced for postcards of the New York’s World’s Fair.

    Word Count: 29

    New York World's Fair postcard View of the Constitution Mall looking toward statue of George Washington and Trylon and Perisphere, photograph by Ernest Nash, East and West Publishing Company, 1939 (Private Archive Helene Roth).
    Backside of New York World's Fair postcard View of the Constitution Mall looking toward statue of George Washington and Trylon and Perisphere, photograph by Ernest Nash, East and West Publishing Company, 1939 (Private Archive Helene Roth).Ernest Nash, New York World’s Fair 1939, Perisphere (© Bildarchiv Ernest Nash, Goethe-Universität, Frankfurt am Main).Ernest Nash, New York, World’s Fair 1939, Constitution Mall, Trylon and Perisphere (© Bildarchiv Ernest Nash, Goethe-Universität, Frankfurt am Main).Photo by Rolf Tietgens of Streamliners at the World’s Fair published in the World's Fair special issue of U.S. Camera, August 1939, p. 45 (Photo: Helene Roth).Photo by Rolf Tietgens of the Communication Mall at the World’s Fair 1939 published in the World's Fair special issue of U.S. Camera, August 1939, p. 38 (Photo: Helene Roth).Photo of the Aquacade swim show by Walter Sanders for Black Star, reproduced in Life, 3 July 1939, p. 60 (Estate Walter Sanders, Photo: Helene Roth).“Life goes to The Futurama.” Image of the General Motors Show by Walter Sanders in Life, 5 June 1939, p. 79 (Estate Walter Sanders, Photo: Helene Roth).Photograph of Amazonian birds by Carola Gregor for the brochure Pavilhão do Brasil. Feira Mundial de Nova York de 1939, p. 13 (Photo: Helene Roth).Photograph of Amazonian birds by Carola Gregor for the brochure Pavilhão do Brasil. Feira Mundial de Nova York de 1939, pp. 11–12 (Photo: Helene Roth).Demolition of the World’s Fair by Ruth Bernhard. Reprint of the reportage “Where the World of Tomorrow Is But the Ghost of Yesterday.” The Highway Traveler, vol. 13, no. 2, April-May 1941, pp. 14–15 (© Ruth Bernhard Archive, Special Collection Princeton University © Trustees of Princeton University).Today’s area of the World’s Fair, Flushing Meadows-Corona Park with the Unisphere (where the Trylon and Perisphere stood) (Photo: Helene Roth, 2019).
    New York
    Black Star Agency
    Photo Agency

    The German émigrés Kurt S(z)afranski, Ern(e)st Mayer and Kurt Kornfeld founded Black Star in 1936. The photo agency established was a well-run networking institution in New York.

    Word Count: 31

    Letterhead of Black Star (Black Star Archive. Ryerson Image Center, Photo: Helene Roth).
    Logo and Stamp of Black Star Photo Agency (Photo: Helene Roth, 2019).Description of Black Star in a photographic guide (Ahlers, Arvel W.. Where & how to sell your pictures. Photography Publishing Corp., 1953, p. 45).Werner Wolff, K.S. Safranski’s Class in Pictorial Journalism, 1950 (New School for Research Archive, Photograph Collection © Steven Wolff).Facade and entrance of the Graybar Building on Lexington Avenue (Photo: Helene Roth, 2018).Cover of Selling Your Pictures by Kurt Safranski (Ziff Davis Publishing Company, 1940).Black Star contract by Fred Stein, April 1, 1944 (© Fred Stein Archive).Announcement of "Pictorial Journalism. Photographs as a Language and their special Problems" course by Kurt Safranski at the New School for Social Research, Spring 1949 (© The New School Archives and Special Collection, The New School, New York).Letterhead with the logo and address of Black Star (© Fred Stein Archive).
    New York
    Leco Photo Service
    Photo Lab

    Leco Photo Service was a photofinishing lab, highly-frequented and a contact hub for émigré photographers and photo agencies during the 1930s and 1940s, as well as a provider of employment for women in the photo industry.

    Word Count: 36

    Advertisment Leco Photo Service (Photo: Helene Roth).
    Leco Photo Service mentioned in Etna Kelley. “Woman in Photography.”, Popular Photography, June 1945, pp. 23 (Photo: Helene Roth).Article on Leco Photo Service by Etna Kelley. “Photofinishing Plus.” Popular Photography, February 1947, pp. 84–85 (Photo: Helene Roth).
    New York
    Pantheon Books
    Publishing House

    Pantheon Books was a publishing house founded in 1942 by the German émigré Kurt Wolff (1887–1963) and aimed at the exiled European community in New York.

    Word Count: 24

    Pantheon Books sign (© Fred Stein Archive).
    Cover of 5th Avenue photobook (Pantheon Books, 1947) by Fred Stein (© Fred Stein Archive).First page of 5th Avenue (Pantheon Books, 1947) by Fred Stein (© Fred Stein Archive).Page of 5th Avenue (Pantheon, 1947) by Fred Stein.Last page of 5th Avenue (Pantheon Books, 1947) by Fred Stein (© Fred Stein Archive).Page from Fred Stein’s scrapbook showing Pantheon Books Catalogue (Fall 1946, Spring 1947), which includes 5th Avenue (© Fred Stein Archive).Announcement by Pantheon Books from Fred Stein’s scrapbook (© Fred Stein Archive).Mixed articles and reviews on 5th Avenue photobook form Fred Stein's scrapbook (© Fred Stein Archive).Portrait of Kurt Wolff (of publishing house Pantheon Books) by Fred Stein, 1959 (© Fred Stein Archive).Cover of the French edition 5th Avenue (Querido, 1947) by Fred Stein (© Fred Stein Archive).
    New York
    Norlyst Gallery
    GalleryArt Gallery

    Founded in 1943 by the American painter and art collector Elenore Lust, the Norlyst Gallery represented a cross section of contemporary painting, photography and other media focusing on surrealist and abstract expressionist styles and promoting women artists and photographers.

    Word Count: 38

    Flyer for the Captured Light exhibition (© The Josef and Yaye Breitenbach Charitable Foundation, courtesy of The Center for Creative Photography, Josef Breitenbach Archive, AG90:29).
    Announcement for the Captured Light exhibition (© The Josef and Yaye Breitenbach Charitable Foundation, courtesy The Center for Creative Photography, Josef Breitenbach Archive, AG90:29).Flyer for Lotte Jacobi’s exhibition at the Norlyst Gallery, 1948 (© 2020. University of New Hampshire).Willi Wolfradt. "Lichtbild-Schöpfungen." Aufbau, 15 October 1948, p. 19.
    New York
    Julien Levy Gallery
    Art Gallery

    The Julien Levy Gallery was founded by the art dealer Julien Levy (1906–1981) in 1931, and was situated in the New York gallery district around 57th Street, where the Weyhe and Norlyst Gallery were also located.

    Word Count: 34

    T. Lux Feininger, The Painter Muriel Streeter and Julien Levy, 1940, New York (© The Estate of T. Lux Feininger, Repro: www.Kunst-Archive.net).
    Exhibition flyer Paintings of Ships by T. Lux Feininger at the Julien Levy Gallery from May, 7 until December, 31 1937 (© T. Lux Feininger Estate).Exhibition flyer by Theodore Lux Feininger at the Julien Levy Gallery from January, 21 until January, 31 1947 (© T. Lux Feininger Estate).Announcement of the exhibition Modern European Photography at the Julien Levy Gallery (The Brooklyn Daily Eagle, 21 February 1932, p. 52).
    New York
    Spiratone
    Photo Supplier

    Spiratone was a photo company and photo supplier founded in 1941 by the Austrian émigré family Hans (1888–1944) and Paula Spira (?–?) and their son Fred Spira (1924–2007).

    Word Count: 24

    Logo and address of Spiratone in Popular Photography, June 1947, p. 104.
    Advertisement in Minicam, vol. 5, no. 1, September 1941 p. 73; 84; 100Advertisement for Spiratone in Popular Photography, October 1949, p. 5.
    New York
    Werner Wolff
    Photographer

    Werner Wolff was forced to leave Germany in 1936 due to his Jewish background and emigrated via Hamburg to New York, where he could follow his career as photographer and photojournalist.

    Word Count: 30

    Lotte Jacobi, Werner Wolff, 1943, New York (© 2021. University of New Hampshire).
    “Speaking of Pictures. Mrs. Roosevelt Takes Voice Lessons.” Life, 13 March 1939, pp. 6–9 (Photo: Helene Roth).Agreement between Black Star and Werner Wolff, 1947 (The Family of Werner Wolff © Ryerson Image Center).Camera Features stamp (The Family of Werner Wolff © Ryerson Image Center).Contact sheets for reportage on Empire State Building by Werner Wolff, 1946 (The Family of Werner Wolff © Ryerson Image Center).Rear side of contact sheets for reportage on Empire State Building by Werner Wolff, 1946 (The Family of Werner Wolff © Ryerson Image Center).Text for reportage on Empire State Building, written by Werner Wolff, 1946 (The Family of Werner Wolff © Ryerson Image Center).List of images and description for reportage on Empire State Building, written by Werner Wolff, 1946 (The Family of Werner Wolff © Ryerson Image Center).“Daredevil at Work” reportage by Werner Wolff in Popular Photography, September 1946, p. 39 (Photo: Helene Roth).Werner Wolff, K.S. Safranski’s Class in Pictorial Journalism, 1950 (New School for Research Archive, Photograph Collection © Steven Wolff).
    New York
    Josef Breitenbach
    Photographer

    On arriving in New York in 1941, the German photographer Josef Breitenbach tried to restart as a portrait, street and experimental photographer, as well as a teacher of photo-history and techniques.

    Word Count: 30

    Fred Stein, Joseph Breitenbach, n.d. (© Deutsche Nationalbibliothek. Deutsches Exilarchiv 1933-1945, Frankfurt am Main).
    Fred Stein, Backside portrait Joseph Breitenbach, n.d. (© Deutsche Nationalbibliothek. Deutsches Exilarchiv 1933-1945, Frankfurt am Main).Attestation of Identity of Josef Breitenbach, Agen, September 1940 (© The Josef and Yaye Breitenbach Charitable Foundation, courtesy of The Center for Creative Photography, Josef Breitenbach Archive, AG90:5).Affidavit for Josef Breitenbach, April 1941 (© The Josef and Yaye Breitenbach Charitable Foundation, courtesy of The Center for Creative Photography, Josef Breitenbach Archive, AG90:12).Address book Josef Breitenbach, New York (© The Josef and Yaye Breitenbach Charitable Foundation, courtesy of The Center for Creative Photography, Josef Breitenbach Archive, AG90:6).Page with collected addresses of photographers in New York by Josef Breitenbach (© The Josef and Yaye Breitenbach Charitable Foundation, courtesy of The Center for Creative Photography, Josef Breitenbach Archive, AG90:6).Page with collected addresses of colleagues at the New School for Social Research in New York by Josef Breitenbach (© The Josef and Yaye Breitenbach Charitable Foundation, courtesy of The Center for Creative Photography, Josef Breitenbach Archive, AG90:6).Application for use of photographic equipment by Josef Breitenbach, 1942 (© The Josef and Yaye Breitenbach Charitable Foundation, courtesy of The Center for Creative Photography, Josef Breitenbach Archive, AG90:12).Business card Josef Breitenbach (© The Josef and Yaye Breitenbach Charitable Foundation, courtesy of The Center for Creative Photography, Josef Breitenbach Archive, AG90:6).Letter from Fortune Magazine, 1942 (© Josef Breitenbach Archive, AG90:4, Center for Creative Photography, The University of Arizona).
    New York
    Lotte Jacobi
    Photographer

    In October 1935 the German émigré photographer Lotte Jacobi, together with her sister Ruth Jacobi, opened a photo studio on 57th Street. The two sisters had to leave their parents' photo studio in Berlin in the 1930s and emigrated to New York.

    Word Count: 41

    Lotte Jacobi, Self-portrait, New York, 1937 (© 2020. University of New Hampshire).
    Lotte Jacobi, Central Park, New York, 1936 (© 2020. University of New Hampshire).Lotte Jacobi, New York Stock Exchange, New York, 1938 (© 2020. University of New Hampshire).Lotte Jacobi, Ernst Fuhrmann, New York, 1942 (© 2021. University of New Hampshire).Lotte Jacobi, Hanya Holm dancing with troup, 1937 (© 2020. University of New Hampshire).Flyer for Lotte Jacobi’s exhibition at the Norlyst Gallery, 1948 (© 2020. University of New Hampshire).Willi Wolfradt. "Lichtbild-Schöpfungen." Aufbau, 15 October 1948, p. 19.Lotte Jacobi, Werner Wolff, 1943, New York (© 2021. University of New Hampshire).Lotte Jacobi, Ruth Bernhard, 1945, New York (© 2021. University of New Hampshire).
    New York
    Lilly Joss
    Photographer

    Lilly Joss was an émigré freelance photographer in New York. She worked for the Black Star photo agency and magazines and was also a portrait and theatre photographer.

    Word Count: 28

    Portrait of Lilly Joss, detail from an article, published in Barbara Green. “Magazine Photographer Lilly Joss.” The Camera, March 1948, p. 42 (Private Archive Helene Roth).
    Frühling im Central Park series. Junges Paar mit Kinderwagen by Lilly Joss, New York, 1944 (© Wien Museum / kunstdokumentation.com).“The Kid’s spoke up” article with images by Lilly Joss, The Los Angeles Times, 4 February 1945, p. 79 (Photo: Helene Roth).Four images by Lilly Joss for the “Spring 1944” reportage, Life 24 April 1944, pp. 96–97 (Photo: Helene Roth).Two little boys in a Chinese kindergarten by Lilly Joss for the “Salon Section”, Popular Photography, March 1945, pp.46–47 (Photo: Helene Roth).Joss Reich, Lilly. The Viennese Pastry Cookbook. From Vienna With Love over 200 authentic recipes for classic pastries and warm desserts. New York: The Macmillan Company, 1970.
    New York
    Ylla
    Photographer

    Ylla was an Austrian-born photographer who emigrated to New York in 1941. Specialising in animal photography, she produced not only studio photographs, but also shot outside on urban locations in the metropolis.

    Word Count: 31

    "Speaking of Pictures … this is the work of the Bachrach of Dog Photography.”, images by Ylla and published in Life, 17 November 1947, pp. 18–19. (Photo: Helene Roth).“Babytime at the Zoo”, images by Ylla, Life,14 May 1944, p. 43. (Photo: Helene Roth).“Ylla’s cameras tells. A tale of two kittens ... .” Popular Photography, Dezember 1951, pp. 50–51 (Photo: Helene Roth).Profile photo of terrier by Ylla (Camilla Koffler), ca. 1938, published on the cover of U.S. Camera, October 1940 ( © Waverley123 (Pryor Dodge) at the English Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons).Advertisement in The New Yorker (November 14, 1953, p. 184) for Ylla’s book Animal’s in Africa (Photo: Helene Roth).Published photograph by Ylla Back to Methusala, Regent's Park London for U.S. Camera. Annual 1943, edited by Tom Malloney, Radom House, 1943, p. 90.Fritz Neugass. “The saga of the S.S. Winnipeg.” Modern Photography, July 1951, pp. 72–73 (Photo: Helene Roth).
    New York