Greatest Art Photographers
Definitive List of the World's 200 Most Famous Camera Artists.

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Venetian Canal (1894)
Photographed by Alfred Stieglitz.

Greatest Photographers (1880-present)
The 200 Most Famous Camera Artists

Contents

Introduction
The Top 20 Camera Artists
The 200 Greatest Art Photographers

For the exploits of 19th-century photographers as well as an account of the early inventions of camera art, see: History of Photography (c.1800-1900).


 

Introduction

From its roots in the early 19th century, photography has grown into a major branch of contemporary art, and now ranks alongside printmaking - as well as painting and sculpture - as an important type of fine art. Not surprisingly art collectors have not been slow to respond: the record auction price for a single photograph now stands at $4,338,500 - the price paid at Christie's New York, in November 2011, for Rhein II, 1999, by German lens-based artist Andreas Gursky. Among the great exponents of photography are such camera artists as Alfred Stieglitz (1864-1946), Edward Steichen (1879-1973), Man Ray (1890-1976), Ansel Adams (1902-84) and Cartier-Bresson (1908–2004) to name but a tiny few.

Photography is associated historically with landscape painting: it was especially popular with Impressionist painters, for instance, who wanted to capture a fleeting moment of light. In addition it has been used by a number of modern art movements, notably Dada (c.1916-23), Die Neue Sachlichkeit (New Objectivity) (1920s), Surrealism (1924 onwards), Fluxus (1960s), and Pop Art (1960s/70s). Today it is linked with several different types of art, including silkscreen printing (see famous works like: Green Car Crash, 1963; and Eight Elvises, 1963; both by Andy Warhol), animation and computer art, and is frequently incorporated into installation art and collages.

Photography embraces almost all the genres, notably portrait art, landscapes and still lifes, and captures everyday scenes with an immediacy and directness that oil painting can never match. It also brings to life other artforms, such as architecture, as well as land art.

There are two basic types of photography: (1) Pictorialism, that is, soft-focus photos that are "manipulated" in the darkroom; and (2) Straight Photography, meaning the modern style of sharp focus pictures. Both types can be equally creative. (See: Is Photography Art?) Straight photography embraces a number of specialist areas, each with its own set of aesthetics, and camera artists. These specialties include: documentary photography and street photography, as well as fashion, beauty, celebrity portraits, sports, and humanistic photography, as well as photojournalism.

Please see also: Art Photography Glossary.

 

 

The Top 20 Camera Artists

Selecting the 20 greatest photographers is a highly subjective task. Here are our chosen favourites.

Ansel Adams (1902-84)
Noted for his heroic-style black-and-white documentary photography recording the American West before the advent of tourism. His works include the masterpiece Moonrise, Hernandez, New Mexico (1948), which was auctioned at Sotheby's New York in April 2006 for $609,600. Others include: Storm in Yosemite Valley (1935), and The Tetons and the Snake River (1942).

Eugene Atget (1857-1927)
French photographer noted for his landmark architectural and Parisian street-scene photography. His works include the masterpiece Joueur d'Orgue (1898), which was auctioned at Christie's New York in April 2010, for $686,500.

Richard Avedon (1923-2004)
One of America's greatest fashion photographers, along with Irving Penn. His works include the masterpiece Dovima with Elephants (1955), which was auctioned at Christie's Paris in November 2010 for $1,151,976.

Robert Capa (1913-54) (Endre Erno Friedmann)
Hungarian camera artist, photojournalist and war photographer, who helped establish Magnum.

Henri Cartier-Bresson (1908–2004)
French lens-based artist, considered to be the greatest "street-photographer" of the 20th century. Often called "the greatest photographer of modern art."

Walker Evans (1903–1975)
American FSA camera artist who chronicled everyday American life during the 1930s, and in so doing "aestheticized the banal".

Robert Frank (b.1924)
Outstanding Swiss born lens-based artist noted in particular for his street photography.

Andreas Gursky (b.1955)
German camera artist, noted for his large-scale colour photographs of postmodern culture. Typically prefers commercial and financial subjects. His works include the masterpiece Rhein II (1999), which sold in November 2011 for $4,338,500 at Christie's New York.

Dorothea Lange (1895-1965)
Pioneer American photographer, famous for her gritty realist photographs taken during the 1930s Depression in America.

Annie Leibovitz (b.1949)
The leading 20th century exponent of portrait photography as an art-form. Among her finest portraiture are pictures of: John Lennon & Yoko Ono; Meryl Street; Demi Moore; Queen Elizabeth II; Mick Jagger and the Rolling Stones.

Man Ray (1890-1976)
American-born Paris-based avant-garde lens-based artist, early exponent of Dada and Surrealism, who specialized in Pictorialism. Invented the "rayograph", and also became a celebrated fashion and portrait photographer. One of the great modern artists.

Robert Mapplethorpe (1946-89)
Cult New York photographer of the 1980s, and one of the first postmodernist artists. Noted for his b/w celebrity portraits of Andy Warhol, Deborah Harry, Richard Gere, and others, he remains best known for his notorious Portfolio X series of adult photographs. His works include a portrait of Andy Warhol (1987), which was auctioned at Christie's New York in October 2006 for $643,200. Photographs by Robert Mapplethorpe have been exhibited in many of the best galleries of contemporary art in America.

Irving Penn (1917-2009)
American photographer noted for his fashion photography, portraits, and plant studies, as well as a series of outstanding ethnographical imagery.

Charles Sheeler (1883-1965)
American painter and photographer, a member of the Precisionism movement. Famous for his industrial photography, including his series on the Ford Motor Company's River Rouge car plant.

Cindy Sherman (b.1954)
New York photographer and film director, recipient of a MacArthur Fellowship, famous for her postmodernist art, notably her conceptual portraits.

Edward Steichen (1879-1973)
A founder member of Photo-Secession in 1902, he quickly became famous for his series of portraits of New York celebrities, like J.P. Morgan (1903) - and for his highly innovative print The Pond - Moonlight (1904), which sold for $2,928,000 in February 2006, at Sotheby's New York. With Alfred Stieglitz, he established the Little Galleries of the Photo-Secession, and in 1911 became the world's first fashion photographer when his photos of Paul Poiret's gowns were published. After the Great War he switched to realist photography, becoming the world's highest paid commercial photographer. Later, he became Director of Photography at the Museum of Modern Art, New York.

Alfred Stieglitz (1864-1946)
The father of lens-based American art, and one of the greatest camera artists in the United States. Helped to set up the breakaway Photo-Secession in 1902, and with Edward Steichen founded the Little Galleries of the Photo-Secession (later called "291", after its address at 291 Fifth Avenue, NYC). Was editor and publisher of the journal Camera Work (1902-17). His works include a portrait of Georgia O'Keeffe (Hands) (1919), which was auctioned at Sotheby's New York in February 2006 for $1,470,000.

Paul Strand (1890-1976)
American pioneer photographer and filmmaker who helped to establish photography as an art form in the 20th century, he was also one of the founders of the Photo League, a group who used their art to support progressive social causes. Best known for his early abstract-style photographs (Wall Street, 1915).

Jeff Wall (b.1946)
Canadian camera artist specializing in "staged photography". Regarded as one of the most advanced thinkers of contemporary art. His works include the masterpiece Dead Troops Talk (1992), which was auctioned at Christie's New York in May 2012 for $3,666,500.

Edward Weston (1886-1958)
American camera artist; one of the leading exponents of Pictorialism, and a major figure in "straight photography". Noted for his portraiture, nudes, plant and sea-shell studies. His works include the masterpiece Nude (1925), which was auctioned at Sotheby's New York, in April 2008, for $1,609,000.

 

200 Greatest Art Photographers

Here is a selected A-Z list of the world's greatest lens-based artists. A handful of key scientific contributors to the evolution of photography have also been included.

Ansel Adams (1902-84) - see above: "Top 20 Photographers"

Max Alpert (1899-1980)
Ukrainian. Photo essays on industrialization in post-revolutionary Russia. Pioneer of reportage during the 1930s.

Manuel Alvarez Bravo (1902-2002)
Mexican. Portraits, landscapes, especially street scenes, still lives and nudes. Close to surrealism.

Nobuyoshi Araki (b.1940)
Japanese. Photographs of erotic fantasies as well as urban scenes, plants and animals.

Diane Arbus (1923-71)
American fashion and portrait photographer. Greatly influenced photography during the 1960s and 70s.

Eugene Atget (1857-1927) - see above: "Top 20 Photographers"

Richard Avedon (1923-2004) - see above: "Top 20 Photographers"

David Bailey (b.1938)
1960s British fashion photographer. Also known for his landscapes, nude studies, still lifes and portraiture.

Dmitri Baltermants (1912-90)
Polish born war photographer and photojournalist. Regarded as a giant of Soviet photography. See also: Russian Artists.

Gabriele Basilico (b.1944)
Italian photographer specializing in architectural photos in Italy during the 1980s and 90s.

Herbert Bayer (1900-85)
Austrian designer, architect and photographer. Bauhaus graduate.

Cecil Beaton (1904-80)
British fashion photographer and celebrity portraitist.

Bernhard/Hilla Becher (1931-2007) and (b.1934)
German couple specializing in photographs of industrial architecture.

Hans Bellmer (1902-75)
Polish born idiosyncratic (surrealist) photographer known for his intense images of large self-made dolls of girls. See also: Surrealist artists.

Ferenc Berko (1916-2000)
Hungarian cameraman famous for his photo reportage, portraits and nudes.

Mario de Biasi (b.1923)
Italian post-war photojournalist, also known for street photography akin to Neo-realism.

Ilse Bing (1899-1998)
German fashion and dance photographer, also noted for Paris street scenes and portraits.

Werner Bischof (1916-54)
Member of Magnum, noted for his humanist photojournalism. With Rene Burri, he is the best known post-war Swiss photographer.

Karl Blossfeldt (1865-1932)
German lens-based artist, one of the most important exponents of Neue Sachlichkeit, known in particular for his close-ups of plants.

Kurt Blum (1922-2005)
Swiss photographer noted for his abstract work and photo experiments. Also known for his sensitive portraits of some of the greatest visual artists - including Braque, Shagall, Giacometti and Picasso.

Erwin Blumenfeld (1897-1969)
German painter known for his Dada collages, nude studies, portraits and fashion photography.

Edouard Boubat (1923-99)
French photographer famous for his humanist photography. One of the top post-war cameramen in France.

Pierre Boucher (1908-2000)
French photographer schooled in Constructivism, known his photograms, montage, nude studies and photojournalism.

Margaret Bourke-White (1904-71)
American industrial photographer, war reporter. Chief photographer of Life magazine; celebrated in America during the 30s and 40s. Also noted for her Holocaust art - her photos of Buchenwald concentration camp.

Bill Brandt (1904-83)
German photographer who specialized in portraits and landscapes. Surrealisist imagery, with a dark pictorial language.

Brassai (Gyula Halasz) (1899-1984)
Hungarian lens-based artist. Influenced by Surrealism, famous for his shots of Paris by night.

Marianne Breslauer (1909-2001)
German photographer known for her travel photography, portraits and experimental street views during the 20s and 30s.

Alexey Brodovitch (1898-1971)
Russian born photographer and the most significant graphic designer in America (1930-50). See also: Graphic Art.

Anton Bruehl (1900-82)
Australian born pioneer of colour photography (notably fashion shots for Conde Nast). One of the most important art photographers in America.

Max Burchartz (1887-1961)
German photographer and a key exponent of modern design. Known for his industrial design and advertising shots.

Rene Burri (b.1933)
Along with Werner Bischof one of the top post-war Swiss photographers.

Larry Burrows (1926-71)
English photojournalist, photographer for Time magazine, died in Laos.

Edward Burtynsky (b.1955)
Canadian landscape photographer, known for "manufactured landscapes", notably of industrial areas.

Julia Margaret Cameron (1815-79)
British photographer, noted for her photographic portraits and mythological images. Hugely influential on photography during the era of Victorian art in Britain.

Robert Capa (1913-54) (Endre Erno Friedmann) - see above
"Top 20 Photographers"

Henri Cartier-Bresson (1908–2004) - see above: "Top 20 Photographers"

Francisco Catala-Roca (1922-98)
Important documentary film maker, the most important 20th century Catalan photographer.

Yevgeny Chaldei (1916-97)
One of the most famous Soviet war photographers, often called the "Robert Capa" of Russia.

Martin Jimenez Chambi (1891-1973)
The most important lens-based artist of Latin America.

Hermann Claasen (1899-1987)
German architectural photographer also known for his studio portraits and shots of Cologne during wartime.

Alvin Langdon Coburn (1882-1966)
American exponent of Pictorialism, noted for his urban and industrial landscapes, his futurist and Cubist Vortographs and artist portraits.

Clifforn Coffin (1913-72)
One of the most innovative fashion photographers in post-war America. Also known for celebrity portraits.

John Cowan (1929-79)
One of the leading English fashion photographers of the "Swinging Sixties". Noted for his outdoor shots.

Gregory Crewdson (b.1962)
American cameraman who specialized in staged photographs of small-town America. Operated on the border between fantasy and reality.

Imogen Cunningham (1883-1976)
American exponent of Pictorialism and later "straight photography". Member of the f/64 group. Noted for her plant studies, portraits and nudes of her husband.

Edward S. Curtis (1868-1952)
American pioneer photographer of native American culture.

Louis Daguerre (1787-1851)
Responsible for the first ever photograph of a person in 1839.

Dmitri Debabov (1899-1949)
Russian photojournalist of the 1930s, specializing in industrial and expedition photography.

Patrick Demarchelier (b.1943)
French born internationally famous fashion photographer noted for his portraits of Princess Diana.

Rineke Dijkstra (b.1959)
Unconvential Dutch portrait photographer.

Robert Doisneau (1912-44)
French humanist photographer known for his portraits, photojournalism and shots of Paris life.

Ken Domon (1909-90)
One of the most important Japanese documentary photographers of the 1950s and 60s.

Frantisek Drtikol (1883-1961)
Famous Czech photographer of the 1920s, influenced by Symbolism and Art Deco.

Remy Duval (1907-84)
French photographer who operated in the area between Pictorialism and Neue Sachlichkeit.

George Eastman (1854-1932)
American innovator who invented roll film as a replacement for photographic plates.

Harold E Edgerton (1903-90)
American electrical engineer and photographer. Inventor of the high-speed or stroboscope flash.

William Eggleston (b.1939)
American cameraman, one of the most significant pioneers of colour photography since the 1970s.

Alfred Ehrhardt (1901-84)
German Bauhaus student and landscape photographer in the style of Neue Sachlichkeit.

Ed van der Elsken (1925-90)
Celebrated Dutch lens-based artist, greatly influenced by 1950s existentialism.

Hugo Erfurth (1874-1948)
German photographer noted for his theatre, expressive dance and portrait photography. Had close contacts with Otto Dix, Paul Klee and Oskar Kokoschka. Took photographs of Archipenko, Beckmann, Shagall, Gropius and Max Liebermann.

Elliott Erwitt (b.1928)
French born Magnum photographer famous for his photos of dogs.

 

Walker Evans (1903–1975) - see above: "Top 20 Photographers"

Bernard Faucon (b.1950)
French born exponent of "staged photography", also noted for his use of mannequins and children.

Louis Faurer (1916-2001)
American fashion photographer also noted for his street scenes, influenced by Robert Frank and Alexey Brodovitch.

Andreas Feininger (1906-99)
French born student of the Bauhaus design school who created a series of acclaimed images of New York.

Lyonel Feininger (1871-1956)
German-American cartoonist, Cubist painter and Bauhaus teacher, he was also a talented photographer.

Hans Finsler (1891-1972)
Influential German teacher of photography and exponent of Neue Sachlichkeit.

Arno Fischer (b.1927)
A leading exponent of lens-based art in the German Democratic Republic. Noted for his fashion, portrait and street photography.

Trude Fleishmann (1895-1990)
Austrian photographer specializing in nudes, dance photography and portraits of Viennese artists during the 1920s.

Gunther Forg (b.1952)
German born sculpture and photographer noted for his quiet architectural photography.

Robert Frank (b.1924) - see above: "Top 20 Photographers"

Lee Friedlander (b.1934)
Versatile American photographer noted for his portraits, nudes, nature, urban landscapes and street photography.

Masahisa Fukase (b.1934)
Internationally acclaimed lens-based artist famous for his book entitled "Ravens" (1986) featuring his extraordinary bird photography.

Alberto Garcia-Alix (b.1956)
Spanish photographer, member of the La Movida Madrilena countercultural movement, specializing in nude portraits.

Cristina Garcia Rodero (1949)
Spanish photographer who focuses on encapturing the customs, traditions, religious rites and festivals of her native country.

Mario Garrubba (b.1923)
Italian photojournalist of the 1950s and 50s.

Mario Giacomelli (1926-2000)
One of the best known post-war Italian art photographers, noted for her shots of people and landscapes.

Rolf Gillhausen (1922-2004)
German photojournalist, later art director at Stern magazine.

David Goldblatt (b.1930)
One of the most famous South African art photographers who documented the racial and social conflicts of his native country.

Nan Goldin (b.1953)
Taboo-breaking American photographer, who specializes in socially marginalized groups.

John Goto (1916-94)
Professor of Fine Art at the University of Derby in England, who specializes in photomontage. Also known for the "High Summer" pictures in his Ukadia series of photos.

Paul Graham (b.1956)
One of the best known British lens-based artists since the 1980s, who introduced a new colour aesthetic.

Milton H Greene (1922-85)
One of the best paid fashion photographers in America, also noted for his stylish portraits of Marilyn Monroe.

Sid Grossman (1914-55)
American cameraman, founder member of the Photo League, noted for his socially critical photography.

Franz Christian Gundlach (b.1926)
One of the most significant exponents of fashion photography in Germany from the 1950s to the 1970s.

Andreas Gursky (b.1955) - see above: "Top 20 Photographers"

Heinz Hajek-Halke (1898-1983)
German experimental photographer who explored multiple exposures, light graphics, montages and portraiture.

Raoul Hausmann (1886-1971)
Austrian co-founder of Berlin Dada and co-inventor of the photomontage (with Hanna Hoch), Raoul Hausmann also produced photograms, portraits, landscapes and nudes. Influenced by expressionist painters like Erich Heckel, George Grosz and Karl Schmidt-Rottluff.

Robert Hausser (b.1924)
German photographer noted for his "magic realism", black and white shots. Pioneer of photographic art in post-war Germany.

John Heartfield (Helmut Herzfeld) (1891-1968)
Founder member of Berlin Dada, the avant-garde artist John Heartfield was a pioneer in political photomontage during the 1920s and 30s.

Florence Henri (1893-1982)
American born Bauhaus student and portrait photographer in the style of New Vision (Neues Schen).

John Herschel (1792-1871)
Experimental British scientist responsible for the cyanotype process and was the first to coin the terms "photography", "negative" and "positive".

Lucien Herve (Laszlo Elkan) (1910-2007)
Hungarian humanist photographer noted in particular for his interpretations of architectural design by Le Corbusier (1887-1965).

Hiro (Yasuhiro Wakabayashi) (b.1930)
Chinese born photo designer specializing in fashion and beauty. Influenced by Avedon and Brodovitch.

Hannah Hoch (1889-1978)
With Raoul Hausmann, the inventor of Dada photomontage.

David Hockney (b.1937)
English artist, one of the best known representatives of "art photography". Noted in particular for his Polaroid collages.

Candida Hofer (b.1944)
Cologne based photographer who specializes in public interiors.

Heinrich Hoffmann (1885-1957)
Court photographer of the German Nazi movement from 1920-45.

Horst P Horst (1906-99)
Foremost German fashion photographer of the 1930s and 40s. With a touch of surrealism and dramatic lighting.

Eikoh Hosoe (b.1933)
One of the most famous Japanese lens-based artists, noted for his "disturbing book", Killed By Roses.

George Hoyningen-Huene (1900-68)
Russian born still life, portrait, travel and fashion photographer.

Franz Hubmann (1914-2007)
The most famous Austrian post-war photojournalist.

Georges Hugnet (1906-74)
Leading Parisian surrealist photographer.

Axel Hutte (b.1951)
German architectural and landscape photographer, noted for his creation of uncertainty in his work.

Irina Ionesco (b.1935)
Paris born controversial art photographer focusing on nudes and erotic photography.

Yasuhiro Ishimoto (b.1921)
The most important Japanese lens-based artist after Ken Domon. Known for his objectivity and immersion in the aesthetics of Japanese art and culture.

Graciela Iturbide (b.1942)
The best known contemporary female photographer in Mexico, known for her exploration of Latin American culture.

Izis (Israelis Bidermanas) (1911-80)
Lithuanian photographer noted for his everyday scenes in the manner of "Photographie Humaniste".

Yousuf Karsh (1908-2002)
Turkish portrait photographer, noted for his shots of celebrities from the world of entertainment, politics and art. His portraits include those of Bogart, Castro, Einstein, Hemingway, JFK, Picasso, Warhol and Churchill.

NOTE: What exactly is art? See: Definition of Art.

Benjamin Katz (b.1939)
Leading photographer of the West German art scene since the 1970s.

Peter Keetman (1916-2005)
Important post-war representative of "subjektive fotografie" in Germany.

Seydou Keita (1921-2001)
Together with Malick Sidibe, one of the best known photographers of Black Africa, specializing in studio portraits.

Andre Kertesz (1894-1985)
Hungarian born photographer of artists, still lifes, street scenes and Parisian interiors. Influenced by both surrealism and Neue Sachliechkeit.

William Klein (b.1928)
Highly influential American graphic artist and photographer. Active in Europe.

Nick Knight (b.1958)
English fashion photographer and portraitist, one of the most influential young lens-based artists of the 1990s.

Alberto Korda (1928-2001)
Cuban photojournalist noted for his shots of the Cuban revolution and creator of the famous portrait of Che Guevara.

Les Krims (b.1942)
American photographer noted for her innovative staged photography with feminist overtones.

David LaChapelle (b.1963)
American fashion photographer famous for his over-the-top garish, kitsch-style imagery.

Dorothea Lange (1895-1965) - see above: "Top 20 Photographers"

Frans Lanting (b.1951)
Acclaimed Dutch animal and landscape photographer.

Annie Leibovitz (b.1949)
American photographer specializing in celebrity portraits.

Peter Lik (b.1976)
Australian landscape photographer, winner of the Art in Nature category of the Windland Smith Rice International Awards for Nature's Best Photography in 2010 and 2011. His picture entitled "One" (2010) (a nature photo taken on the snowy banks of the Androscoggin River in New Hampshire) was sold in December 2010 to an anonymous collector for $1,000,000.

 

Peter Lindbergh (b.1944)
Polish photographer, one of the most innovative exponents of fashion photography.

Gabriel Lippmann (1845-1921)
French Nobel Prize-winning physicist responsible for major improvements in photographic colour reproduction.

El Lissitzky (1890-1941)
Constructivist artist and so-called "Proun designer", known for his political propagandist photography.

Dora Maar (1907-97)
French born Croatian camerawoman, mainly known for her role as the partner and muse of Pablo Picasso.

Man Ray (1890-1976) - see above: "Top 20 Photographers"

Robert Mapplethorpe (1946-89) - see above: "Top 20 Photographers"

Herbert Matter (1907-84)
Swiss photographer and pioneer of a new style in poster art and advertising.

John Edwin Mayall (1813-1901)
English Victorian photographer who took some of the earliest photographs of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert.

Don McCullin (b.1935)
Famous English war photographer, also noted for his landscapes and still lifes.

Steve McCurry (b.1950)
American cameraman and Magnum member, noted for his shots of Afghanistan.

Ralph Eugene Meatyard (1925-72)
Idiosyncratic American photographer famous for his symbolic black and white photographs.

Gjon Mili (1904-84)
Albanian born Life magazine photographer, noted for her studies of movement. Influenced by Edgerton's stroboscope technology.

Lee Miller (1907-77)
Talented American portrait and fashion photographer, influenced by surrealism.

Laszlo Moholy-Nagy (1895-1946)
Hungarian multi-media artist, designer and photographer. Bauhaus instructor and exponent of Constructivism. Noted for his "photograms".

Sarah Moon (b.1941)
French fashion and portrait photographer, marked by an new romantic femininity.

Ugo Mulas (1928-73)
Italian Neo-Realist photographer noted for his b/w portraits of artists in New York during the 1960s. These include portraits of Roy Lichtenstein, Jim Dine, Claes Oldenburg, Robert Rauschenberg, Frank Stella and Andy Warhol.

Hans Namuth (1915-90)
German born photographer of the Spanish Civil War. Also famous for his series of photographs showing the artist Jackson Pollock at work.

Arnold Newman (1918-2006)
American portrait photographer, his sitters have included Picasso, Braque, Warhol, Richard Nixon, JFK, Truman Capote, Vladimir Nabokov, and Konrad Adenauer, as well as the photographers Cartier-Bresson, Alfred Stieglitz and Paul Strand.

Helmut Newton (1920-2004)
German fashion and portrait photographer noted for his artistic nudes.

Ken Ohara (b.1942)
Japanese portrait photographer noted for his new style b/w shots.

Lennart Olson (1925-2010)
Swedish film maker and photographer noted for his Neo-Pictorialism and subjective photography.

Paul Outerbridge, Jr. (1896-1958)
American lens-based artist noted for his surrealist object photography and nude studies processed with three-colour carbro technology.

Norman Parkinson (1913-1990)
English pioneer of new style "naturalism" in fashion and portrait photography.

Martin Parr (b.1952)
Versatile English colour-photographer noted for his still lifes, portraits, advertising and fashion photography, often with a kitsch flavour.

Irving Penn (1917-2009) - see above: "Top 20 Photographers"

Richard Prince (b.1949)
American painter and photographer. His picture Untitled (Cowboy) (1989), a "rephotograph" of a photograph taken originally by Sam Abell was auctioned at Christie's New York, in November 2005, for $1,248,000, November 2005, Christie's New York auction.

Oscar Gustave Rejlander (1813-75)
Swedish cameraman and photomontage expert who collaborated with Charles Darwin on The Expression of the Emotions in Man and Animals.

Albert Renger-Patzsch (1897-1966)
Pioneer German photographer of the New Objectivity movement. Known for his landscapes, cityscapes and industrial photography.

Marc Riboud (b.1923)
French photojournalist and long-time Magnum member, noted for his photographs of China, Vietnam and Cambodia.

Leni Riefenstahl (1902-2003)
Iconic German lens-based artist associated with Nazi art, who achieved world-wide fame for her photographs and film of the 1936 Berlin Olympics.

Alexander Rodchenko (1891-1956)
One of the central figures in Russian Constructivism, noted for his sculptures, designs and photographic montages and portraits.

Ed Ruscha (b.1937)
Pop artist best-known for his dispassionate photos of mundane features of American life in the 60s: see, for example, his book Twentysix Gasoline Stations (1962).

Sebastiao Salgado (b.1944)
Brazilian cameraman and one of the most controversional contemporary photojournalists. Famous for his b/w shots from the Third World.

August Sander (1876-1964)
Pioneer German photographer and chronicler of German society during the early 20th century.

Hugo Schmolz (1879-1938)
Early 20th century German architectural photographer in the spirit of the New Objectivity.

David Seidner (1957-99)
Late 20th century star of fashion and portrait photography in America. His portraits included those of Louise Bourgeois, Richard Serra, Cy Twombly and Jenny Holzer.

David Seymour (1911-56)
Polish photographer, founder member and President of Magnum. Noted for his humanistic photojournalism.

Ben Shahn (1898-1969)
American painter and photographer, member of the social realism movement and the principle exponent of FSA photography.

Charles Sheeler (1883-1965) - see above: "Top 20 Photographers"

Cindy Sherman (b.1954) - see above: "Top 20 Photographers"

Julius Shulman (1910-2009)
American photographer, the most important interpreter of architecture of the 1940s and 50s. Noted in particular for his shots of Californian modernism.

Sandy Skoglund (b.1946)
American photographer famous for her staged photographs featuring surrealist style compositions on the border between the rational and the irrational.

Alexander Slyussarev (b.1944)
Pioneer of Soviet art photography, regarded as a master of 'autonomous' camera art.

Lord Snowdon (b.1930) (Anthony Armstrong Jones)
Versatile British camera artist, noted for his fashion photography and portraits of artists, celebrities and royalty. Married Princess Margaret in 1960; divorced 1968.

Emmanuel Sougez (1889-1972)
Pioneer, French lense-based artist. Known for his still-lifes, portraits and architectural photography, notably his shots of Notre Dame cathedral in Paris.

Edward Steichen (1879-1973) - see above: "Top 20 Photographers"

Otto Steinert (1915-78)
German art photographer, curator and teacher and one of the most influential figures in post-war German photography.

Alfred Stieglitz (1864-1946) - see above: "Top 20 Photographers"

Paul Strand (1890-1976) - see above: "Top 20 Photographers"

Christer Stromholm (1918-2002)
Leading Swedish cameraman after 1945, famous for his early existential Paris photos.

Josef Sudek (1896-1976)
Czech lense-based artist, noted for his landscapes, cityscapes, portraits and still-lifes. His style varied between Pictoralism and New Objectivity.

John Szarkowski (1925-2007)
Photographer, curator, historian, critic and Director of Photography at MOMA (1962-91). Awarded two Guggenheim Fellowships, as well as numerous one-man shows, he was lectured at Harvard, Yale, Cornell, and New York University, and published several landmark books, including Looking at Photographs - a practical guide on how to critique photographs, which is still used in many of the best art schools.

William Fox Talbot (1800-77)
Inventor of the calotype process; his research into photo-mechanical reproduction led to the discovery of the photoglyphic engraving process, the forerunner of photogravure.

Karel Teige (1900-51)
Foremost exponent of Czech photographic art between the wars. Noted especially for his collages.

Shoji Ueda (1913-2000)
Mid-20th century Japanese photographer specialising in landscapes, still-lifes and architectural photography.

Umbo (Otto Maximilian Umbehr) (1902-80)
German pioneer of portrait photography, photograms, photomontages and advertising shots.

Andre Vigneau (1892-1968)
French photographer, known for his advertising, fashion and architectural photography around 1930.

Roman Vishniac (1897-1990)
Jewish Russian photographer who chronicled the disappearing life of Central and Eastern European Jewry during the 1930s, thus bearing witness to a disappearing culture.

Jeff Wall (b.1946) - see above: "Top 20 Photographers"

Andy Warhol (1928-87)
American Pop artist, film-maker and photographer. Leading figure in the New York avant-garde art scene during the 1970s and 80s.

Albert Watson (b.1942)
Scottish fashion photographer also known for his portraits, nude studies, landscapes and still-lifes.

Edward Weston (1886-1958) - see above: "Top 20 Photographers"

Minor White (1908-76)
Minneapolis born photographer, teacher and long-time editor of Aperture magazine, strongly influenced by Alfred Stieglitz.

Garry Winogrand (1928-84)
American photographer of everyday life in America, noted for his radical, visual language.

Reinhart Wolf (1930-88)
German photographer specialising in architecture and still-lifes. Also famous for his food photography.

Wols (Alfred Otto Wolfgang Schulze) (1913-51)
Short-lived German avant-garde artist and photographer. Founder member of Art Informel and strongly influenced by surrealism.

Alexander Zhitomirsky (1907-93)
The leading agitprop artist and photographer in the Soviet Union. Pioneer of the political photomontage.

Piet Zwart (1885-1977)
Dutch pioneer of "New Photography", known in particular for his photomontages, photograms and object photography.

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• For more about lens-based artists, see: History of Art.
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