Nevertheless, measured by the expectations of pic-
torial photography of that time, his technical skills
were slight. In 1909 he gave up acting, and in 1910 he
opened his own studio with his wife. His first pub-
lished photography dates from the following year,
appearing in Milwaukee, Wisconsin-based Ger-
man-language newspapers. After 1911, at the latest,
Lerski took part in one of the Photographers’ Asso-
ciation of America conventions. It is uncertain
whether he took a teaching position in photography
in Austin, Texas, that the university offered him in
- In any case, he already had a reputation
among the faculty. The influential critic of the
time, Sadakichi Hartmann, emphasized the singular
artificiality of Lerski’s photographs that seemed to
reveal a face ‘‘masked by mimicry.’’
In the early American years of his work, the term
‘‘Lerski pictures’’ gained currency. These photo-
graphs already show the stylistic characteristics
that were to become typical of Lerski’s output. In
their overall qualities they conformed to the current
standards of artistic photography, dominated by
the soft-focus, expressive ideals of Pictorialism.
But through the manner in which the subject is por-
trayed, Lerski created a distinct style, one achieved
by chiaroscuro light effects and posed gestures, by
use of a low vantage point to indicate pathos, mak-
ing his works comparable to those of nineteenth
century master Julia Margaret Cameron. Lerski
paid particular attention to lighting, using a clever
mixture of side and frontal illumination that he
aimed with mirrors.
In 1915, Lerski returned to Germany. In the same
year he had a one-man show, which was well
received, at a Berlin publishing house, with one
critic suggesting that Lerski might be a figure able
to liberate photography from its increasingly hide-
bound traditions. Even at this time it was apparent
that he avoided traditional ways of printing and
that the theatrical staging of his photographs was
something not previously seen. Although he exhib-
ited his photographs again the next year, Lerski
then suddenly gave up still photography. In 1916,
he found a position as director and cameraman of
the photography and technical department of the
newly founded WW Film Society of Berlin. The
aesthetic of German expressionism, with its reliance
on graphic effects, hard contrasts of light and sha-
dow, and dramatic portrayals, suited him well. A
press release from the first year that he worked with
the film society praised the photographic treatment
of the actors’ faces as ‘‘uniquely specialized...with
the entire treasure of his means and form of expres-
sion,’’ which was brought out by Lerski’s unusual
lighting technique. Trade publications cited the
quality of his light staging, which Lerski continued
to use after the WW Film Society broke up. Over
the next few years he worked with screenwriter and
poet Be ́la Bala ́zs and director Berthold Viertel; a
1925 article in Die Filmwochedescribed him as
artist, poet, and visionary of the camera.
After another four years of more or less success-
ful film projects (most of which were directed
toward a narrow group of intellectuals), Lerski
returned to still photography. After 1929 his pic-
tures of personalities from the Berlin art scene
began appearing in Vogue, Die Dame, Die neue
Linie, Scherl’s Magazin,Sport im Bild, and Die
weite Welt. Essays praising his earliest work also
started to appear. Yet Lerski first secured his great
fame as a portrait photographer for a project he
worked on privately in his studio. Hiring off the
street and from employment agencies, he photo-
graphed anonymous models, a practice which
excited much attention after these pictures were
published. Lerski was represented with these stu-
dies in 1929 at the world-famous Film und Foto
exhibition. This was followed by a major exhibition
of these works,Everyday Heads, in 1930, and a
book of reproductions was published. Two mu-
seums had already purchased some of his prints.
Lerski’s photographs presented a completely new
project. He did not concern himself with conven-
tional beauty, and photographed physiognomies
because of their expressive intensity. The models’
faces are photographed up close, tightly cropped,
and often from below. Complicated lighting trans-
formed the faces into vivid landscapes against a
neutral backdrop. In the dramatically lit atmo-
spheres, and quietly expressive expressions Lerski
captured with the intent to produce an introspec-
tive, but noble, if not heroic, expression without
any particularized psychological revelation; one
can trace the influence of German films. Lerski
represented not single individuals, but representa-
tives of the collective. His method, however, was
completely different from that of his contemporary
August Sander, who photographed typical citizens
he felt exemplified their professions or positions in
society. Lerski portrayed people without any overt
symbols or even intimations of their social posi-
tions. Only the ‘‘true’’ humanist potential was to
come forth in his portraits. If ever the term ‘‘expres-
sionistic’’ applied to photography, it applied to
Helmar Lerski.
In his following project, Lerski further pursued
his unique vision. In 1931, he worked in Palestine
onDocument of the Jewish Race, a photography
series for which he had already secured a French
publisher; he planned to have Albert Einstein writeLERSKI, HELMAR