Dorothy Bohm (22 June 1924 – 15 March 2023) was a Russian-born British photographer based in London, known for her portraiture,

street photography Street photography is photography conducted for art or inquiry that features unmediated chance encounters and random incidents within Public space, public places. It usually has the aim of capturing images at a decisive or poignant moment by caref ...

, early adoption of colour, and photography of London and Paris; she is considered one of the

doyen A doyen or doyenne (from the French language, French word ''wikt:doyen#French, doyen'', ''doyenne'' in the feminine grammatical gender) is the senior ambassador by length of service in a particular country. In the English language, the meaning ...

nes of British photography.

Life and career

Bohm was born Dorothea Israelit in June 1924 in

Königsberg Königsberg (; ; ; ; ; ; , ) is the historic Germany, German and Prussian name of the city now called Kaliningrad, Russia. The city was founded in 1255 on the site of the small Old Prussians, Old Prussian settlement ''Twangste'' by the Teuton ...

East Prussia East Prussia was a Provinces of Prussia, province of the Kingdom of Prussia from 1772 to 1829 and again from 1878 (with the Kingdom itself being part of the German Empire from 1871); following World War I it formed part of the Weimar Republic's ...

(now

Kaliningrad Kaliningrad,. known as Königsberg; ; . until 1946, is the largest city and administrative centre of Kaliningrad Oblast, an Enclave and exclave, exclave of Russia between Lithuania and Poland ( west of the bulk of Russia), located on the Prego ...

, Russia), to a German-speaking family of Jewish-Lithuanian origins. From 1932 to 1939 she lived with her family in Lithuania, first in Memel (now

Klaipėda Klaipėda ( ; ) is a city in Lithuania on the Baltic Sea coast. It is the List of cities in Lithuania, third-largest city in Lithuania, the List of cities in the Baltic states by population, fifth-largest city in the Baltic States, and the capi ...

) and later in

Šiauliai Šiauliai ( ; ) is a city in northern Lithuania, the List of cities in Lithuania, country's fourth largest city and the List of cities in the Baltic states by population, sixth largest city in the Baltic States, with a population of 112 581 in 202 ...

. She was sent to England in 1939 to escape Nazism: first to a boarding school in

Ditchling Ditchling is a village and civil parish in the Lewes (district), Lewes District of East Sussex, England. The village is contained within the boundaries of the South Downs National Park; the order confirming the establishment of the park was sign ...

, Sussex, but soon to Manchester, where her brother was a student, and where she met Louis Bohm (whom she would marry in 1945).Dorothy Bohm,
Manchester Memoir
(2007), Manchester Art Gallery. Accessed 1 July 2012.Press dossier
(PDF) for the exhibition ''Un Amour de Paris'', Musée Carnavalet, 2005. Accessed 1 July 2012. Bohm studied photography at the Manchester Municipal College of Technology, from which she received a diploma; she also received a certificate in photography from

City and Guilds The City and Guilds of London Institute is an educational organisation in the United Kingdom. Founded on 11 November 1878 by the City of London and 16 livery companies to develop a national system of technical education, the institute has bee ...

. She had worked under the photographer Samuel Cooper for four years until she set up her own portrait studio, Studio Alexander, in 1946, using her ''nom de guerre'' Dorothy Alexander. (She would sell the studio in 1958.) Samples from this early portrait work would be exhibited decades later.Val Williams and Susan Bright, eds, ''How We Are: Photographing Britain from the 1840s to the Present'' (London: Tate Publishing, 2007; ), pp. 106, 107, 229. Bohm's husband worked for a petrochemical company that obliged him to move around the world. In 1947 she made the first of several visits to Paris, where she lived with her husband from 1954 to 1955. In the 1950s she also lived in New York and San Francisco, in 1956 travelling to Mexico, where she photographed in

colour Color (or colour in Commonwealth English; see spelling differences) is the visual perception based on the electromagnetic spectrum. Though color is not an inherent property of matter, color perception is related to an object's light absorp ...

for the first time.Exhibition notice
for ''A World Observed 1940–2010'', Manchester Art Gallery, 1 March 2010. Accessed 1 July 2012. She lived in

Hampstead Hampstead () is an area in London, England, which lies northwest of Charing Cross, located mainly in the London Borough of Camden, with a small part in the London Borough of Barnet. It borders Highgate and Golders Green to the north, Belsiz ...

from 1956. By the late 1950s, Bohm had abandoned studio portraiture in favour of

, but was still working predominantly in

black and white Black-and-white (B&W or B/W) images combine black and white to produce a range of achromatic brightnesses of grey. It is also known as greyscale in technical settings. Media The history of various visual media began with black and white, ...

; in 1980 she was persuaded by

André Kertész André Kertész (; 2 July 1894 – 28 September 1985), born Andor Kertész (), was a Hungarian-born photographer known for his groundbreaking contributions to photographic composition (visual arts), composition and the photo essay. In the earl ...

to experiment with colour, which she did for two years using a

Polaroid SX-70 The SX-70 is a folding single lens reflex Land camera which was produced by the Polaroid Corporation from 1972 to 1981. The SX-70 helped popularize instant photography. History In 1948, Polaroid introduced its first consumer camera. The ...

instant camera. She used colour negative film from 1984, and from 1985 worked exclusively in colour. This early work of Bohm's has been described by Monica Bohm-Duchen as "humanist street photography, capturing the moment in the manner of

Henri Cartier-Bresson Henri Cartier-Bresson (; 22 August 1908 – 3 August 2004) was a French artist and Humanist photography, humanist photographer considered a master of candid photography, and an early user of 135 film, 35mm film. He pioneered the genre of street ...

" whilst "people are often surprised by the youth and vibrancy of her colour work. She focuses on fragments of the urban landscape ... that are otherwise overlooked. These photographs have an abstract quality; there's a deliberate spatial ambiguity and you're not quite sure what you're looking at. But nothing is manipulated – she will still only work with film." A major 1969 exhibition in the

Institute of Contemporary Arts The Institute of Contemporary Arts (ICA) is an modernism, artistic and cultural centre on The Mall (London), The Mall in London, just off Trafalgar Square. Located within Nash House, part of Carlton House Terrace, near the Duke of York Steps a ...

titled ''Spectrum'' and consisting of a main exhibition called ''Woman'' and four smaller exhibitions showing photography by Bohm,

Don McCullin Sir Donald McCullin (born 9 October 1935) is a British photojournalist, particularly recognised for his war photography and images of urban strife. His career, which began in 1959, has specialised in examining the Social documentary photograph ...

Tony Ray-Jones Tony Ray-Jones (7 June 1941 – 13 March 1972) was an English photographer. Life Born Holroyd Anthony Ray-Jones in Wells, Somerset, he was the youngest son of Raymond Ray-Jones (1886–1942), a painter and etcher who died when Tony was only ...

an
Enzo Ragazzini
drew a public response that encouraged one of its organizers, Sue Davies, to embark on founding the UK's first photography gallery,

The Photographers' Gallery The Photographers' Gallery was founded in London by Sue Davies opening on 14 January 1971, as the first public gallery in the United Kingdom devoted solely to photography. It is also home to the Deutsche Börse Photography Prize, established ...

, which opened in 1971. Bohm's show was titled ''People at Peace'' and she said: "I photograph the humble, the anonymous - those who are spontaneous and mirror all of us." Bohm was later described as the Gallery's Associate Director. Bohm visited South Africa for five weeks in 1974, later exhibiting photographs taken there at the Photographers' Gallery in April 1975. With Helena Kovac, she also founded the Focus Gallery for Photography in 1998; the gallery closed in 2004.Diane Smyth,
The life and work of Dorothy Bohm
", ''British Journal of Photography'', 7 April 2010. Accessed 1 July 2012. She was awarded an honorary fellowship of the

Royal Photographic Society The Royal Photographic Society of Great Britain, commonly known as the Royal Photographic Society (RPS), is the world's oldest photographic society having been in continuous existence since 1853. It was founded in London, England, in 1853 as th ...

in November 2009. Bohm had two daughters,https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/art/features/dorothy-bohm-interview-91-year-old-photographer-on-portraying-humanity-and-hope-after-escaping-the-10367646.htm Dorothy Bohm interview: 91-year-old photographer on portraying humanity and hope after escaping the Nazis as a teenager. one of whom, Monica Bohm-Duchen, is an art historian and curator. Bohm said about her work:

The photograph fulfils my deep need to stop things from disappearing. It makes transience less painful and retains something of the special magic, which I have looked for and found. I have tried to create order out of chaos, to find stability in flux and beauty in the most unlikely places.

Bohm died in London on 15 March 2023, at the age of 98.

Publications

*Dorothy Bohm. ''A World Observed''. London: Hugh Evelyn, 1970. With Introduction by

Roland Penrose Sir Roland Algernon Penrose (14 October 1900 – 23 April 1984) was an English artist, historian and poet. He was a major promoter and collector of modern art and an associate of the surrealists in the United Kingdom. During the Second World ...

. *Dorothy Bohm and Ian Norrie. ''Hampstead: London Hill Town''. London: Wildwood House, 1981. . *Ian Norrie and Dorothy Bohm. ''A Celebration of London, Walks around the Capital''. London: André Deutsch, 1984. . **''Walks around London: A Celebration of the Capital.'' London: André Deutsch, 1986. . *''Dorothy Bohm Photographs''. Jerusalem: The Israel Museum, 1986. Text by Nissan Perez. . Only black and white images of an exhibition that had included both black and white and colour images. *Dorothy Bohm. ''Egypt''. London: Thames & Hudson, 1989. . With foreword by

Lawrence Durrell Lawrence George Durrell (; 27 February 1912 – 7 November 1990) was an expatriate British novelist, poet, dramatist, and travel writer. He was the eldest brother of naturalist and writer Gerald Durrell. Born in India to British colonial pa ...

and text by

Ian Jeffrey Ian Jeffrey is an English art historian, writer and curator. Jeffrey is the author of a series of illustrated books on the history of photography. He is a recipient of the Royal Photographic Society's J. Dudley Johnston Award. Life and work Jef ...

. *Dorothy Bohm. ''Venice''. London: Thames & Hudson, 1992. . Text by Ian Jeffrey. *Dorothy Bohm. ''Colour Photography 1984–94''. London:

, 1994. . Text by Ian Jeffrey. *Dorothy Bohm. ''Sixties London''. London: Lund Humphries / The Photographers' Gallery, 1996. . Texts by Amanda Hopkinson and Ian Jeffrey. *Dorothy Bohm. ''Walls and Windows''. London: Lund Humphries; Bath: The Royal Photographic Society, 1998. . Texts by Mark Haworth-Booth and Monica Bohm-Duchen. *Dorothy Bohm. ''Inside London''. London: Lund Humphries / The Photographers' Gallery, 2000. . Texts by Martin Harrison and

Jessica Duchen Jessica Duchen is a British music writer, novelist, playwright and opera librettist. Life Born in London, Duchen studied music at Cambridge University. She was a classical music correspondent for ''The Independent'' for 12 years. She has written on ...

. *Dorothy Bohm. ''Breaks in Communication''. Göttingen: Steidl, 2002. . Text by Martin Harrison. *Mátyás Sárközy and Dorothy Bohm. ''Albion köd nélkül.'' Pécs: Jelenkor Kiadó, 2004. . *Dorothy Bohm. ''Un Amour de Paris''. Paris: Paris Musées, 2005. . Texts by Mark Haworth-Booth, Lynne Woolfson and Françoise Reynaud. *Dorothy Bohm. ''Ambiguous Realities by Dorothy Bohm''. Ben Uri Gallery and Museum, 2007. . *Dorothy Bohm. ''Ambiguous Realities: Colour Photographs by Dorothy Bohm''. London: Ben Uri Gallery, 2007. . Text by Monica Bohm-Duchen. *David Hawkins, ed. ''A World Observed, 1940–2010: Photographs by Dorothy Bohm.'' London: Philip Wilson; Manchester: Manchester Art Gallery, 2010. , . Texts by Monica Bohm-Duchen,

Colin Ford Colin Lee Ford (born September 12, 1996) is an American actor. He is known for his roles as Josh Wheeler in '' Daybreak''; Joe McAlister in '' Under the Dome''; the voice of Jake on ''Jake and the Never Land Pirates''; Mikey on '' Can You Teach ...

, and Ian Jeffrey. *Dorothy Bohm. ''About Women.'' Stockport, Cheshire:

Dewi Lewis Dewi Lewis (born Denbigh, Wales, 10 March 1951) is a publisher and curator of photography. Career In 1975, Lewis was the founding director of the Bury, Greater Manchester, Bury Metropolitan Arts Association which operates The Met (arts centre), ...

, 2016. .

Exhibitions

Solo

*1969 ''People at Peace'', part of ''Four Photographers in Contrast'' (with

and Enzo Ragazzini) at

, London. *1976 Exhibition of London photographs at ll Diaframma Gallery, Milan. A smaller version of this exhibition was also shown at the Marjorie Neikrug gallery in New York. *1976 ''Impressions of South Africa'', at

, London. *1981 ''A Sense of Place'', retrospective exhibition at the

Camden Arts Centre Camden Art Centre (known as Hampstead Arts Centre until 1967 and Camden Arts Centre until 2020) is a contemporary art gallery in the London Borough of Camden, England. It hosts temporary exhibitions and educational outreach projects, with a prog ...

, London. *1984 Exhibition of Polaroid images of London at the Contrast Gallery, London. *1986 Retrospective at the

Israel Museum The Israel Museum (, ''Muze'on Yisrael'', ) is an Art museum, art and archaeology museum in Jerusalem. It was established in 1965 as Israel's largest and foremost cultural institution, and one of the world's leading Encyclopedic museum, encyclopa ...

, Jerusalem, with a catalogue published by the Museum. *1994 ''Dorothy Bohm: Colour Photography 1984–94'', The Photographers' Gallery, London, with catalogue published by the Gallery. *1997 Exhibition of photographs from ''Sixties London'' at

Museum of London London Museum (known from 1976 to 2024 as the Museum of London) is a museum in London, covering the history of the city from prehistoric to modern times, with a particular focus on social history. The Museum of London was formed in 1976 by ama ...

. *1998 ''Walls and Windows'', exhibition of colour photographs 1994–1998 at

, Bath and Royal National Theatre, London, with accompanying book published by Lund Humphries. *1998 Exhibition of still-life images at Artmonsky Arts, London. *1999 Retrospective at Focus Gallery (London). *1999 ''Colour Photographs'' at Focus Gallery (London). *2002 Exhibition of Hungarian images at Hungarian Cultural Institute, London. *2002 Exhibition of large colour photographs from ''Breaks in Communication'' at

Victoria and Albert Museum The Victoria and Albert Museum (abbreviated V&A) in London is the world's largest museum of applied arts, decorative arts and design, housing a permanent collection of over 2.8 million objects. It was founded in 1852 and named after Queen ...

and Focus Gallery, London. *2003 Exhibition of Hampstead images at Hampstead Museum, London. *2005 Photographs of Mexico at The Photographers' Gallery, London. *2005 ''Un Amour de Paris'', major retrospective of Paris photographs 1947–2003,

Musée Carnavalet The Musée Carnavalet () in Paris is dedicated to the History of Paris, history of the city. The museum occupies two neighboring mansions: the Hôtel Carnavalet and the former Hôtel Le Peletier de Saint Fargeau. On the advice of Baron Haussmann, ...

, Paris,Jeanne Dréan,
Dorothy Bohm, cinquante ans de flamme déclarée à la capitale
, ''20 Minutes,'' 4 March 2006. Accessed 1 July 2012. accompanied by catalogue in English and French published by Paris Musées. *2005 Exhibition of vintage black and white images of London and Paris, The Photographers' Gallery, London. *2006 Smaller version of Musée Carnavalet Paris exhibition shown at Das Verborgene Museum, Berlin *2007 ''Ambiguous Realities: Colour Photographs by Dorothy Bohm'', exhibition at

Ben Uri Gallery The Ben Uri Gallery & Museum is a registered museum and charity based at 108a Boundary Road, off Abbey Road in St John's Wood, London, England. It features the work and lives of émigré artists in London, and describes itself as "The Art Museum ...

, London *2007 ''Israel in Black and White: Photographs by Dorothy Bohm'', exhibition at Corman Arts, London *2010 ''A World Observed 1940–2010'', a major retrospective,

Manchester City Art Gallery Manchester Art Gallery, formerly Manchester City Art Gallery, is a publicly owned art museum on Mosley Street in Manchester city centre, England. The main gallery premises were built for a learned society in 1823 and today its collection occupi ...

. 24 April – 30 August. *2010 ''Dorothy Bohm Vintage Photographs'', exhibition at Zoe Bingham Fine Art, London. *2011 ''A World Observed 1940–2010'', a major retrospective,

Sainsbury Centre for Visual Arts The Sainsbury Centre is an art museum located on the campus of the University of East Anglia, Norwich, England. As part of its relaunch in 2023 under new executive director, Jago Cooper, the Sainsbury Centre became the first museum in the wor ...

, NorwichExhibition notice
for "A World Observed", Sainsbury Centre for the Visual Arts, 2011. Accessed 30 June 2012. *2012 ''Seeing and Feeling'', Margaret Street Gallery, London *2016 ''Sixties London'',

Jewish Museum A Jewish museum is a museum which focuses upon Jews and may refer seek to explore and share the Jewish experience in a given area. Notable Jewish museums include: Albania * Solomon Museum, Berat Australia * Jewish Museum of Australia, Melbourn ...

, London *2018–19 ''Little Happenings: Photographs of Children'',

V&A Museum of Childhood Young V&A, formerly the V&A Museum of Childhood, is a branch of the Victoria and Albert Museum (the "V&A"), which is the United Kingdom's national museum of applied arts. It is in Bethnal Green in the East End of London, and specialises in obje ...

, London May & June 2019 – Colour Photographs by Dorothy Bohm and AVIVSON GALLERY IN HIGHGATE, LONDON

Group

*1978 ''Paris Seen'',

Graves Art Gallery Graves Art Gallery is an art gallery in Sheffield, England. The gallery is located above the Central Library in Sheffield city centre. It houses permanent displays from the city’s historic and contemporary collection of British and European ...

, Sheffield. *1989 ''City Lights'',

Goldsmiths' College Goldsmiths, University of London, formerly Goldsmiths College, University of London, is a constituent research university of the University of London. It was originally founded in 1891 as The Goldsmiths' Technical and Recreative Institute by ...

, London *2003 ''London Cultural Capital'', The Photographers' Gallery, London *2007 ''How We Are: Photographing Britain'',

Tate Britain Tate Britain, known from 1897 to 1932 as the National Gallery of British Art and from 1932 to 2000 as the Tate Gallery, is an art museum on Millbank in the City of Westminster in London, England. It is part of the Tate network of galleries in En ...

, London. *2012 ''Another London: International Photographers Capture City Life 1930–1980'', Tate Britain, London

Permanent collections

(London) *

Tate Tate is an institution that houses, in a network of four art galleries, the United Kingdom's national collection of British art, and international modern and contemporary art. It is not a government institution, but its main sponsor is the UK ...

(London and elsewhere)Olivier Laurent,
Tate doubles its photography collection after donation
", ''British Journal of Photography,'' 2 May 2012. Accessed 1 July 2012. *

(Paris)

References

External links

* *Jennifer Boyd,
Dorothy Bohm in Manchester
, Manchester Art Gallery. {{DEFAULTSORT:Bohm, Dorothy 1924 births 2023 deaths 20th-century British women photographers Alumni of the University of Manchester Institute of Science and Technology Artists from Königsberg British portrait photographers English women photographers German people of Lithuanian-Jewish descent Jewish emigrants from Nazi Germany to the United Kingdom Jewish women artists People from Hampstead People from Klaipėda People from Šiauliai Photographers from the London Borough of Camden