Erwin Blumenfeld

Welcome to Erwin Blumenfeld's website, one of the most influential photographers of the twentieth century. An experimenter and innovator, he produced an extensive body of work including drawings, collages, portraits and nudes, celebrity portraiture, advertising campaigns and his renowned fashion photography both in black and white and color. This site has been created by the grandchildren of Erwin Blumenfeld as a one-stop resource for anyone interested in his work. Please contact us if you have questions about any of the images or information presented here, or if you have information to contribute. If you have requests to publish, reproduce or distribute any of his images, please just ask.

WORK

“And so I became when there was really nothing left for me to do, a photographer. Everyone told me not to do it. Failed painters became window-dressers, failed window-dressers became photographers.”

NEWS

Opening in Bruxelles:

Jewish Museum of Belgium

Erwin Blumenfeld. Photography. 1930-1950

From September 29, the Jewish Museum of Belgium proposes an exhibition featuring the photographer Erwin Blumenfeld (1897-1969). Famous for his exceptionnaly creative fashion portraits, Blumenfeld’s artistry is offers a polymorphic work where Dadaïst inspiration, political committment and artistic expérimentations intertwine.

Featuring over a hundred photographs, the exhibition looks back at the life of this Berlin Jew who evolved within the cultural avant-garde movement in Amsterdam and Paris. As WWII broke out, he endured internment in a camp but was able to flee to New York in 1941 where his art blossomed with a free exploration of shapes and colors.

29 September 2023–4 February 2024

Look for more information on the website.