Erwin Blumenfeld

The remarkable life and career of pioneering photographer Erwin Blumenfeld has been well documented. A pre-war visit to New York established his reputation, once he returned in 1941 he rapidly became one of the best known and most creative fashion photographers anywhere in the world, creating iconic images using ground breaking techniques and stretching the boundaries of the medium in a way that no other photographer had done before.

The story of Blemenfeld the artist in the 1920s and '30s is less well known. Paintings and drawings have survived from his earliest years in Berlin and then in Amsterdam and Paris he experimented both with photography, photomontage and collage. He embraced Dada-ism and in many ways was a true Surrealist both in composition and technique. His images we often controversial as he confronted the profound social upheaval which took place in the aftermath of the First World War. And in Paris in 1940 the outbreak of war again saw him and his family forced to flee, eventually arriving in New York where he continued to innovate and experiment, both in still photography and film.