Erich Hartmann (photographer)

Erich Hartmann ( born July 29, 1922 in Munich, † February 4, 1999 in New York City ) was a photographer.

Life and work

At the age of 16 years, Hartmann fled with his family, persecuted as Jews in Nazi Germany, to New York. There he worked in a textile factory and graduated from high school. He joined the U.S. Army and fought in Belgium, France and Germany against the Wehrmacht.

His training as a photographer began Hartmann 1946. He first worked as an assistant and freelance photographer. In 1952 he was invited to the agency freelance photojournalists, Magnum Photos, in which he was working successfully for decades. From 1967 he was a member of the Board of Magnum Photos; 1985/86 he was president of the agency.

As an independent photographer Hartmann worked for renowned magazines such as Fortune, Life, Time, Newsweek, Time, Geo and Stern. He was known primarily as an industrial photographer, but also lifted from famous personalities like Marilyn Monroe. Hartmann has taught photography at several American and European universities.

In winter 1993/94 Hartmann undertook an eight week trip to the former concentration camps of the Third Reich. The resulting documentation was published under the title Silent witnesses (English Original Title In the camps ).

End of the 90s Hartmann worked on a autobiographical retrospective of his work. This was completed after his death with the help of his widow Ruth Hartmann and as an exhibition and book entitled Where I was. Personal photographs published.

Exhibitions (selection)

• Our daily bread (1962 )
• Mannequin Factory (1971 ) - New York, Paris
• Laser (1977 ) - New York, Amsterdam, Paris
• Train Journey ( 1982) - among others Paris and New York
• Macro World (1983 ) - Paris, Hamburg, Tokyo, London
• Au clair de la terre (English Destination Earth ) - Belgium, Denmark, Germany, France, Great Britain, Italy, Netherlands, Sweden, Switzerland, Spain
• In the camps (1995-2000)
• Where I was (2000 in Salzburg and Passau) traveling exhibition gallery Fotohof, curated by Kurt Kaindl and Brigitte Blüml