Helmut Gernsheim
Encyclopedia
Helmut Erich Robert Kuno Gernsheim (1 March 1913 – 20 July 1995) was a renowned historian of photography, collector, and photographer.
, Germany
, Gernsheim studied art history at the Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich. He took up photography in 1934 at the urging of his brother who thought it a more practical profession, and graduated from the State School of Photography, Munich, after two year's study. He started working as a colour photographer in the using the German Uvachrome process before going to Paris for an exhibition of his work and then to London to work on a commission from the National Gallery
. He was given British citizenship in 1946 and continued to live in London for most of his life.
At the outset of World War II
he was interned as a "friendly enemy alien" for a year at Hay in New South Wales
, Australia
along with other German nationals. While interned, he lectured other internees on the aesthetics of photography and wrote his critique on photography, New Photo Vision, which was published in 1942 and led to his becoming a friend of fellow critic and historian Beaumont Newhall
. Gernsheim earned his release from internment by volunteering to work for the National Buildings Record, photographing important monuments in the London area with a view to revealing their artistic merits. These photographs became the basis of two more books. They were praised by critics including Kenneth Clark
and Nikolaus Pevsner
and in 1943 were described by The Architectural Review as "nothing short of a rediscovery of the Baroque monuments". Around this time he met and married his wife Alison Eames Gernsheim.
In 1945, at Newhall's prompting, Helmut and Alison started collecting the works of historic photographers, especially British ones, which were fast disappearing since few people valued them. They amassed a huge collection containing work by such luminaries as Julia Margaret Cameron
, Alvin Langdon Coburn
, Hill
& Adamson
, William Henry Fox Talbot, and Louis Daguerre
. They rediscovered the long-lost hobby of Lewis Carroll
when in 1947 Helmut stumbled across an album of Carroll's portraits in a junk shop. Ultimately this collection, along with an estimated 3-4 million words of notes on the subject led to his writing the 180,000 word book The History of Photography. When the first edition was published by the OUP in 1955 it became an instant classic and the definitive reference work for historians of photography for decades afterwards, being described by Beaumont Newhall as "a milestone in the history of photography" and by other reviewers as "the photographer's bible" and "an encyclopaedic work". Along the way, in 1952 Gernsheim discovered the long-lost world's first permanent photograph from nature, created by Joseph Nicéphore Niépce
in 1826 (View from the Window at Le Gras
). Helmut and Alison continued to publish numerous articles and books on various aspects of photography and a variety of photographers.
Ultimately Gernsheim needed to find a home for his vast collection of over 33,000 photographs, 4,000 books, research notes, his own correspondence, and collected correspondence including letters by Daguerre and Fox Talbot. He sought unsuccessfully to found a national museum of photography in the UK (ultimately a National Museum
did not happen until 1983). In the end, after many fruitless discussions with authorities and potential sponsors in several countries, he sold everything to the University of Texas at Austin in 1963 where it formed the basis of a new Department of Photography at the Humanities Research Center.
Alison Gernsheim died on March 27, 1969 and Helmut remarried in 1971. Helmut died on July 20, 1995.
Biography
Born in MunichMunich
Munich The city's motto is "" . Before 2006, it was "Weltstadt mit Herz" . Its native name, , is derived from the Old High German Munichen, meaning "by the monks' place". The city's name derives from the monks of the Benedictine order who founded the city; hence the monk depicted on the city's coat...
, Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
, Gernsheim studied art history at the Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich. He took up photography in 1934 at the urging of his brother who thought it a more practical profession, and graduated from the State School of Photography, Munich, after two year's study. He started working as a colour photographer in the using the German Uvachrome process before going to Paris for an exhibition of his work and then to London to work on a commission from the National Gallery
National gallery
The National Gallery is an art gallery on Trafalgar Square, London, United Kingdom.National Gallery may also refer to:*Armenia: National Gallery of Armenia, Yerevan*Australia:**National Gallery of Australia, Canberra...
. He was given British citizenship in 1946 and continued to live in London for most of his life.
At the outset of World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
he was interned as a "friendly enemy alien" for a year at Hay in New South Wales
New South Wales
New South Wales is a state of :Australia, located in the east of the country. It is bordered by Queensland, Victoria and South Australia to the north, south and west respectively. To the east, the state is bordered by the Tasman Sea, which forms part of the Pacific Ocean. New South Wales...
, Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
along with other German nationals. While interned, he lectured other internees on the aesthetics of photography and wrote his critique on photography, New Photo Vision, which was published in 1942 and led to his becoming a friend of fellow critic and historian Beaumont Newhall
Beaumont Newhall
Beaumont Newhall was an influential curator, art historian, writer, and photographer. His The History of Photography remains one of the most significant accounts in the field and has become a classic photo history textbook...
. Gernsheim earned his release from internment by volunteering to work for the National Buildings Record, photographing important monuments in the London area with a view to revealing their artistic merits. These photographs became the basis of two more books. They were praised by critics including Kenneth Clark
Kenneth Clark
Kenneth McKenzie Clark, Baron Clark, OM, CH, KCB, FBA was a British author, museum director, broadcaster, and one of the best-known art historians of his generation...
and Nikolaus Pevsner
Nikolaus Pevsner
Sir Nikolaus Bernhard Leon Pevsner, CBE, FBA was a German-born British scholar of history of art and, especially, of history of architecture...
and in 1943 were described by The Architectural Review as "nothing short of a rediscovery of the Baroque monuments". Around this time he met and married his wife Alison Eames Gernsheim.
In 1945, at Newhall's prompting, Helmut and Alison started collecting the works of historic photographers, especially British ones, which were fast disappearing since few people valued them. They amassed a huge collection containing work by such luminaries as Julia Margaret Cameron
Julia Margaret Cameron
Julia Margaret Cameron was a British photographer. She became known for her portraits of celebrities of the time, and for photographs with Arthurian and other legendary themes....
, Alvin Langdon Coburn
Alvin Langdon Coburn
Alvin Langdon Coburn was an early 20th century photographer who became a key figure in the development of American pictorialism...
, Hill
David Octavius Hill
The Scottish painter and arts activist David Octavius Hill collaborated with the engineer and photographer Robert Adamson between 1843 and 1847 to pioneer many aspects of photography in Scotland.-Early life:...
& Adamson
Robert Adamson (photographer)
Robert Adamson, was a Scottish pioneer photographer.Adamson was born in St. Andrews, he was hired in 1843 by David Octavius Hill , a painter of romantic Scottish landscapes. He was commissioned to make a group portrait of the 470 clergymen who founded the Free Church of Scotland. Hill required...
, William Henry Fox Talbot, and Louis Daguerre
Louis Daguerre
Louis-Jacques-Mandé Daguerre was a French artist and physicist, recognized for his invention of the daguerreotype process of photography.- Biography :...
. They rediscovered the long-lost hobby of Lewis Carroll
Lewis Carroll
Charles Lutwidge Dodgson , better known by the pseudonym Lewis Carroll , was an English author, mathematician, logician, Anglican deacon and photographer. His most famous writings are Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and its sequel Through the Looking-Glass, as well as the poems "The Hunting of the...
when in 1947 Helmut stumbled across an album of Carroll's portraits in a junk shop. Ultimately this collection, along with an estimated 3-4 million words of notes on the subject led to his writing the 180,000 word book The History of Photography. When the first edition was published by the OUP in 1955 it became an instant classic and the definitive reference work for historians of photography for decades afterwards, being described by Beaumont Newhall as "a milestone in the history of photography" and by other reviewers as "the photographer's bible" and "an encyclopaedic work". Along the way, in 1952 Gernsheim discovered the long-lost world's first permanent photograph from nature, created by Joseph Nicéphore Niépce
Nicéphore Niépce
Nicéphore Niépce March 7, 1765 – July 5, 1833) was a French inventor, most noted as one of the inventors of photography and a pioneer in the field.He is most noted for producing the world's first known photograph in 1825...
in 1826 (View from the Window at Le Gras
View from the Window at Le Gras
View from the Window at Le Gras was the first successful permanent photograph, created by Nicéphore Niépce in 1826 at Saint-Loup-de-Varennes....
). Helmut and Alison continued to publish numerous articles and books on various aspects of photography and a variety of photographers.
Ultimately Gernsheim needed to find a home for his vast collection of over 33,000 photographs, 4,000 books, research notes, his own correspondence, and collected correspondence including letters by Daguerre and Fox Talbot. He sought unsuccessfully to found a national museum of photography in the UK (ultimately a National Museum
National Museum of Photography, Film and Television
The National Media Museum is a museum in Bradford, West Yorkshire, England. Part of the National Museum of Science and Industry, it was the 20th most popular museum in the United Kingdom in 2009, with 613,923 visitors.The first head of the museum was Colin Ford who was succeeded by Amanda...
did not happen until 1983). In the end, after many fruitless discussions with authorities and potential sponsors in several countries, he sold everything to the University of Texas at Austin in 1963 where it formed the basis of a new Department of Photography at the Humanities Research Center.
Alison Gernsheim died on March 27, 1969 and Helmut remarried in 1971. Helmut died on July 20, 1995.
Honors and Awards
- 1959, German Cultural Prize for Photography
- 1968, appointed consultant to Encyclopedia Britannica
- 1974, appointed trustee of the Swiss Foundation of Photography
- 1979, Distinguished Visiting Professor at the University of Texas
- 1981, Distinguished Visiting Professor at University of ArizonaUniversity of ArizonaThe University of Arizona is a land-grant and space-grant public institution of higher education and research located in Tucson, Arizona, United States. The University of Arizona was the first university in the state of Arizona, founded in 1885...
- 1981, Gold Medal of the Academy of Fine Arts at Salsomaggiore
- Honorary Fellow of the Photographic Historical Society of New York
- Honorary Fellow of the Club Daguerre, FrankfurtFrankfurtFrankfurt am Main , commonly known simply as Frankfurt, is the largest city in the German state of Hesse and the fifth-largest city in Germany, with a 2010 population of 688,249. The urban area had an estimated population of 2,300,000 in 2010...