Evelyn Hofer at The Photographers' Gallery is the first UK solo exhibition of the German-American photographer Evelyn Hofer (1922-2009). Discover Hofer’s characteristically considered, large-format portraits, landscapes, cityscapes, still lifes and domestic interiors, many of which demonstrate her preference for the complex colour dye transfer process. New York Times art critic Hilton Kramer described Hofer as ‘the most famous unknown photographer in America’. A description that still rings true today.

‍

From black and white portraits in London and Wales to the vibrant colour of street and park life in New York and Washington, Hofer shot in colour and black and white throughout her career, depending on which she thought right for her subjects. With a keen sense of class structure, her portraits give equal measure to her subjects; from a waitress at the Garrick Club in London and gravediggers in Dublin, to the uniformed Joint Chiefs in Washington's corridors of power. Imbued with a sense of timelessness, Hofer's work contrasted with the ‘shoot-from-the-hip’ style of contemporaries such as Robert Frank and William Klein. This major retrospective spans 45 years of image-making, featuring over 110 black and white and colour images, as well as ephemera and books. Evelyn Hofer is produced in collaboration with Galerie m, Bochum, Germany and the Estate of Evelyn Hofer.

‍

Who is Evelyn Hofer?

Described as ‘a photographer’s photographer’ it seems much of the world is yet to discover Evelyn Hofer. From her early life and photography career to her work in major global cities, and publications, Hofer’s quiet attention to detail and expressive use of colour would go on to influence many contemporary photographers. Born in Marburg, Germany, in 1922, Evelyn and her family left Germany following the Nazi's rise to power. Moving to Geneva in Switzerland when Evelyn was 11, they later moved to Spain, and finally settled in Mexico in the early 1940s.

‍

Evelyn's photography career begins

Hofer’s early training included apprenticeships in two commercial portrait studios, and an induction in photographic theories and techniques with the German-born Swiss photographer Hans Finsler in Switzerland.

Finsler was a pioneer of the ‘New Objectivity’ movement in German art that arose during the 1920s as a reaction against expressionism. Photographer August Sander was also a member of the group.

This formative period acquainted her with modernist theories of aesthetics and technical and chemical processes as well as traditions which considered applied and fine art photography on an equal footing.

New York and editorial work

In her early twenties, Hofer moved from Mexico, and settled in New York – a city that provided a great source of inspiration. The city offered a dynamic cultural scene and here artists Richard Lindner and Saul Steinberg became life-long friends.

She began working for Harper’s Bazaar, which was under the artistic direction of Alexey Brodovitch at the time. More editorial commissions for other magazines followed.

However, it would be a series of photobooks published throughout the late 1950s and 1960s – focusing on US and European cities including New York, Washington, London and Dublin – that offered her the opportunity to develop a distinctive style.

‍

A world awaits

In the late-1950s Hofer was asked to collaborate on an illustrated book, The Stones of Florence, with the novelist and political activist Mary McCarthy. This project led her to work on many subsequent volumes in other cities throughout the 1960s – including New York, Washington, Dublin and London – producing some of her most powerful images.

Hofer’s quiet attention to detail and expressive use of colour would go on to influence many contemporary photographers including Thomas Struth, Joel Sternfeld, Rineke Dijkstra, Judith Joy Ross and Alec Soth.

‍

Technical mastery, artistic vision

Working with a large 4x5 camera, often with colour film, Hofer’s approach contrasted with the black and white ‘shoot-from-the-hip’ style of contemporaries such as Robert Frank and William Klein.  

During the 1970s, she adopted the complex colour dye transfer printing process – involving three layers of coloured dye applied by hand to one emulsion layer – that lends so many of her colour images their expressive impact.

In the same decade, Hofer continued to work editorially for US and European magazines including TIME and the Sunday Times Magazine. This work often focused on contemporary political subjects such as British prisons, the Watergate scandal and Northern Ireland during the Troubles.

‍

The most famous unknown photographer

Later in life, when asked how she felt about being described by the New York Times art critic Hilton Kramer as the ‘most famous unknown photographer in America’, Hofer insisted that it was always the work that mattered, not fame. Described by some who knew her as ‘intensely private’, Hofer died in 2009, aged 87, in Mexico City.

‍

Date: 23 Jun 2023 - 24 Sep 2023

Location: The Photographers' Gallery, London

information