Erwin Blumenfeld, Red Cross for Vogue New York, 1945
On this episode of Masterpiece Theatre...I mean Masters of Photography we'll take a look at a titan of fashion photography, as well as one of the great innovators in darkroom processes. Erwin Blumenfeld, like many, had been exposed to photography at an early age, but first became noticed for his Dada-style collage work, some of which was used as anti-propaganda against Hitler in the 1930's. In an attempt to support himself, he opened up a quickly doomed luxury hand bag store. The story goes that before bankruptcy forced him to close it's doors for good, Blumenfeld happened to discover a false wall hiding a complete photography studio (it's a secret to everyone). This may be a bit of fun folklore, but its charming to think that he literally pried opened a door for an expansive career in portraiture. After making a move to Paris, publishing work in the likes of Haper's Bazaar and Vogue, being interned in a concentration camp, and finally escaping to New York, Blumenfeld became quite famous. The striking images he produced were not only remarkable for their beauty, but also visually mesmerizing due to experimental techniques such as solarization and optical illusion via mirror-play in the darkroom...I guess you can thank him for the origins of many quirky, often abused, Photoshop filters. Although he wasn't much of a handbag salesman, Blumenfeld did make a name for himself as being one of the highest paid photographers in the world at the time. His work remains as impressive as it was in the 40's and continues to influence fashion magazines and photographers to this day.
To view more of his work visit here.