N

HANS NAMUTH

German

Hans Namuth, best known for his portraits of artists,
began his career as a photojournalist and enjoyed
commercial success as an advertising photographer.
Namuth’s status in twentieth century photography,
however, rests on his sensitive portraits of artists and
other creative people. His reputation as a portraitist
was established by his photos of the preeminent
Abstract Expressionist painter, Jackson Pollock.
Unlike his predecessors, Pollock worked with un-
primed, unstretched canvases placed directly on the
floor of his studio, fostering a dynamic technique
with his media: he moved energetically around his
canvas, stepped directly onto it, and attacked the
surface with unprecedented vigor. Documenting Pol-
lock’s movement, in both still photography and film,
Namuth emphasized the performative aspect of this
artist’s technique. Indeed, Namuth’s recording of
Pollock’s energy is so closely aligned with the artist’s
‘‘classic’’ phase that the canvases are rarely consid-
ered without reference to Namuth’s photographs of
their creation.
Namuth’s career as a photographer consists of
two distinct phases interrupted by the tragic effects
of Nazi Germany and World War II. Born in Essen,
Germany in 1915, Namuth was arrested by Nazis in

his hometown in 1933 for distributing anti-Hitler

leaflets. His father, a member of the Nazi party,

secured his release and supplied him with an exit

visa enabling Namuth to flee to Paris. A fellow

German acquaintance in Paris, Georg Reisner,

introduced Namuth to commercial photography.

Learning the trade from Reisner, Namuth sold his

work to Alliance Photo and Three Lions who

placed his work in publications such as Paris-

Match. In 1936, Namuth and Reisner were assigned

byVuto cover the Workers’ Olympiad in Barce-

lona. Coincidentally, they arrived to cover the event

the day before the Spanish Civil War began. They

photographed the war forVuand other European

publications, eventually leaving Spain to work as

freelance photojournalists in France for the remain-

der of the decade.

In 1939, when France declared war on Germany,

Namuth was interned and eventually joined the

French foreign legion. He was discharged a year

later (1940), fleeing to Marseilles and eventually

securing passage to New York in 1941. In an effort

to secure Reisner’s freedom, Namuth sold his cam-

era, but his friend committed suicide in late De-

cember before leaving France. Initially, Namuth

worked in menial positions at various commercial

photography studios in New York City. In January