Great Black and White Photographers 2

       Bill 
  Brandt









Bill Brandt, (Herman Wilhelm Brandt), was born on May 3rd, 1904 in Hamburg, Germany. He is most known for his accurate representation of early British life. After coming down with tuberculosis, Brandt traveled to Vienna to work with Greta Kolliner. Her portrait studio had Brandt practicing diligent work, and he was noticed by Ezra Pound after constructing a portrait of him. Pound suggested that Brandt go to Man Ray's, the American poet, studio, and in 1929, he did just that. Although he only worked at Man Ray's studio for a brief three months, Brandt's work was greatly influenced by the artists he worked with there, such as Eugene Atget, and also by his freelance photography with Paris magazine that he did at the time. In 1930, Brandt moved back to England and continued his work in freelance photography. His picture, St. Paul's Cathedral in the moonlight captured the beauty of London's empty streets at night. Brandt became a well-known and respected photographer quickly by Minotaure, a magazine, publishing one of his first surrealist photos in their magazine in 1934, and then by publishing his own book called The English at Home 1936. During England's depression, Brandt's accurate social documentation of it could be described as revolutionary. Brandt was really the first photographer to document and travel the world, in places like Madrid, Barcelona, and Toledo. His opinions spoke through his artistry, about many ordeals such as the English depression and social issues. He could be, arguably, one of the most revolutionary artists of that time period. In the Observer, they declared Bill Brandt as one of the world's greatest photographers in 1968. In 1984, Brandt was added into the International Photography Hall of Fame. Even though he passed away in 1983 due to a short illness, his great photos still influence many photographers today.