published a few Cibachrome close-ups of butterfly
scales and leaf veins in his last bookNature in Mi-
niature(1989).
Regardless of subject matter (pine cones or freight
ships, feathers or assembly lines), Feininger empha-
sized formal characteristics in his photographs that
he also espoused in his articles. Such qualities
included clarity, contrast, pattern, outline, texture,
and detail. He credited this approach to his educa-
tional background:
As long as I can remember, I have been interested in the
forms of rocks and plants and animals. I have studied
them, not with the eye of an artist, but with the eye of the
architect and engineer, who is primarily interested in
structure, construction, and function.
(Anatomy1956, 8)
Feininger’s analytical style posits his photo-
graphs somewhere between the clinical work of
Neue Sachlichkeit(New Objectivity) German ar-
tists such as Karl Blossfeldt and Albert Renger-
Patzsch and the sensual imagery of American
straight photographers Edward Weston and Imo-
gen Cunningham (all of whom Feininger exhibited
with at various points in his career). Compared to
fellowLifephotographer Margaret Bourke-White,
Feininger lacked drama, both in terms of his
photography and his public persona, yet he main-
tained a consistency in quality and aesthetics.
His imagery and dedication to the field were re-
warded by numerous exhibitions and awards. The
International Center of Photography organized a
traveling retrospective in 1976, and his photographs
have been collected by several major museums
including the International Museum of Photography
and Film, George Eastman House in Rochester, New
York, and the Center for Creative Photography,
University of Arizona, Tuscon, which also houses
his archives. He received a Gold Medal Award for
Editorial Design from the Art Directors Club of
Metropolitan Washington in 1965 and a Robert Lea-
vitt Award from the American Society of Magazine
Photographers in 1966. He died in New York at the
age of 92.
N. ELIZABETHSCHLATTERSeealso:Bauhaus; Black Star; Feininger, T. Lux;
Modern Photography; Moholy-Nagy, La ́szlo ́; Office
of War Information; Peterhans, Walter; Popular
Photography
Biography
Born in Paris, France, 22 December 1906 to American
parents. Studied at Bauhaus in both Weimar and Des-
sau, Germany but essentially self-educated in photogra-
phy, 1919–1928; received degree in architecture from the
Anhaltische Bauschule zu Zerbst, near Dessau, Ger-
many, 1928. Worked for architect Le Corbusier in
Paris, 1932; in Stockholm worked as photographer for
architectural firms, published first book on photogra-
phy, 1933–1939; worked as freelance photographer for
Black Star photo agency, 1940; commissioned by U.S.
Office of War Information, Photographic Section, to
photograph factories throughout the country, 1942; 20-
year career as a staff photographer forLifemagazine,
1943–1962. Received Gold Medal Award from the Art
Directors Club of Metropolitan Washington, 1965;
Robert Leavitt Award from the American Society of
Magazine Photographers, 1966. Died in New York 18
February 1999.Individual Exhibitions
1957 The Anatomy of Nature; The American Museum of
Natural History; New York, and traveling
1963 The World Through My Eyes; Smithsonian Institution;
Washington, D.C.
1965 New York in Farbe; Deutsche Gesellshaft fu ̈r Photo-
graphie; Germany
1968 The Heckscher Museum; Huntington, New York
1970 The Oakland Museum; California
1972 Shells; The American Museum of Natural History;
New York
1976 Andreas Feininger: A Retrospective; International Cen-
ter of Photography; New York
1978 New York in the Forties; New York Historical Society;
New York
1981 Center for Creative Photography, University of Ari-
zona; Tucson
1982, 1985 Daniel Wolf Gallery; New York
1995, 1997 Bonni Benrubi Gallery; New York
2002 Structures of Nature: Photographs by Andreas Feinin-
ger; University of Richmond Museums, Virginia, and
traveling
2003 Andreas Feininger; Frances Lehman Loeb Art Center,
Vassar University, Poughkeepsie, New YorkGroup Exhibitions
1929 Film und Foto; Deutsche Werkbund, Stuttgart, Ger-
many
1948 50 Photographs by 50 Photographers; Museum of
Modern Art, New York
1948 In and Out of Focus; Museum of Modern Art, New
York
1955 The Family of Man; Museum of Modern Art, New
York
1957 Faces in American Art; Metropolitan Museum of Art,
New York
1958 Seventy Photographers Look at New York; Museum of
Modern Art, New York
1959 Photography at Mid-Century; George Eastman House,
Rochester, New York
1960 The Best of Life—Photographer’s Choice; American
Federation of Arts, traveling
1960 Photography in Fine Arts; Metropolitan Museum of
Art, New York (also 1963, 1964, and 1967)FEININGER, ANDREAS