Evelyn Richter (31 January 1930 – 10 October 2021) was a German

art photographer Fine-art photography is photography created in line with the vision of the photographer as artist, using photography as a medium for creative expression. The goal of fine-art photography is to express an idea, a message, or an emotion. This stand ...

known primarily for

social documentary photography Social documentary photography or concerned photography is the recording of what the world looks like, with a social and/or environmental focus. It is a form of documentary photography, with the aim to draw the public's attention to ongoing social ...

work in

East Germany East Germany, officially known as the German Democratic Republic (GDR), was a country in Central Europe from Foundation of East Germany, its formation on 7 October 1949 until German reunification, its reunification with West Germany (FRG) on ...

. She is notable for her black & white photography in which she documented working-class life, and which often showed influences of

Dada Dada () or Dadaism was an anti-establishment art movement that developed in 1915 in the context of the Great War and the earlier anti-art movement. Early centers for dadaism included Zürich and Berlin. Within a few years, the movement had s ...

ism and

futurism Futurism ( ) was an Art movement, artistic and social movement that originated in Italy, and to a lesser extent in other countries, in the early 20th century. It emphasized dynamism, speed, technology, youth, violence, and objects such as the ...

. Her photography is focused on people in everyday life, including children, workers (especially women), artists and musicians. She taught photography both at the

Hochschule für Grafik und Buchkunst Leipzig The Hochschule für Grafik und Buchkunst (HGB) or Academy of Fine Arts Leipzig is one of the oldest art schools in Germany, dating back to 1764. The academy has four colleges specializing in fine arts, graphic design, photography and new media ar ...

, where she had studied, from 1981, as in the 1990s, at the Fachhochschule in

Bielefeld Bielefeld () is a city in the Ostwestfalen-Lippe Region in the north-east of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. With a population of 341,755, it is also the most populous city in the administrative region () of Detmold (region), Detmold and the L ...

. Her work became known internationally only after German reunification. She received awards such as the Culture Award from the

German Society for Photography The German Society for Photography (Deutsche Gesellschaft für Photographie, DGPh) is a German photography organisation, based in Cologne. It is concerned with the application of photography in art, science, education, journalism, economics and pol ...

, the Art Prize of Dresden, and the Bernd und Hilla Becher-Preis for her life's work.

Life and work

Richter was born in

Bautzen Bautzen () or Budyšin (), until 1868 ''Budissin'' in German, is a town in eastern Saxony, Germany, and the administrative centre of the Bautzen (district), district of Bautzen. It is located on the Spree (river), Spree river, is the eighth most ...

in 1930.Evelyn Richter
(in German) Saxon Academy of Arts After completing a photographic apprenticeship in

Dresden Dresden (; ; Upper Saxon German, Upper Saxon: ''Dräsdn''; , ) is the capital city of the States of Germany, German state of Saxony and its second most populous city after Leipzig. It is the List of cities in Germany by population, 12th most p ...

with

Franz Fiedler Franz Fiedler (17 February 1885 – 5 February 1956) was a photographer, German photographer. Biography Fiedler was born in Prostějov in Moravia, Austria-Hungary. Fiedler was a student of Hugo Erfurth. Career He was regarded as an eccentric ...

and Pan Walther from 1948 to 1951, Richter worked as a laboratory assistant at the Vereinigte Kaufstätten Dresden and as a photographer at the

TU Dresden TU Dresden (for , abbreviated as TUD), also as the Dresden University of Technology, is a public research university in Dresden, Germany. It is the largest institute of higher education in the city of Dresden, the largest university in Saxony a ...

. In 1953, she enrolled at the

(HGB) to study Fotografik (graphic photography) with Johannes Widmann, professor of the Institute of Photography. She also studied book design, working with Walter Schiller and . In 1955, she was removed as a student for her "independent interests and pictorial ideas which are foreign to the demands of a realistic socialist art." Richter worked as a freelance photographer, working for such clients as the Leipzig Trade Fair and Sibylle magazine, while simultaneously building a body of work documenting life, work, and societal change in East Germany. Her photographs frequently explored the relationship between industrial machinery and the human (often female) operators. Her focus was portraits of people in everyday situations, such as children, artists, poets and musicians, and she waited patiently for the right moment. She followed the violinist

David Oistrach David Fyodorovich Oistrakh (; – 24 October 1974) was a Soviet Russian violinist, violist, and conductor. He was also Professor at the Moscow Conservatory, People's Artist of the USSR (1953), and Laureate of the Lenin Prize (1960).Sheetz, Kat ...

, travelling to concerts and rehearsals, and made a photo book about him. Richter taught photography at the HGB from 1981, as an honorary professor from 1991 to 2002. In the 1990s, she also taught at the Fachhochschule in Bielefeld. The Evelyn Richter Archive, with over 730 of her photographs, has been housed at the

Museum der bildenden Künste The Museum der bildenden Künste (German: "Museum of Fine Arts") is a museum in Leipzig, Saxony, Germany. It covers artworks from the Late Middle Ages to Modernity. History Museum Foundation and First Museum The museum dates back to the f ...

(Museum of Fine Arts) in Leipzig since 2009. An exhibition of her works was held in 2010 on the occasion of her 80th birthday at the Leonhardimuseum Dresden. In 2016, her photographies were exhibited in a group show, ''Gehaltene Zeit'', together with works by

Ursula Arnold Ursula Arnold (born Ursula Musche 10 March 1929 – died 24 May 2012) was a German photographer. Much of her best known work involves street scenes in Berlin and Leipzig produced during the German Democratic Republic years. Living under a one-pa ...

and

Arno Fischer Arno Fischer ( Wedding, Berlin, 14 April 1927 – Neustrelitz, 13 September 2011) was a German photographer and university teacher. Life Early years and war Arno Fischer's father worked as a type setter. Arno attended school locally from 193 ...

, at the

, Leipzig. In 2020, she was the first recipient of the Bernd und Hilla Becher-Preis of

Düsseldorf Düsseldorf is the capital city of North Rhine-Westphalia, the most populous state of Germany. It is the second-largest city in the state after Cologne and the List of cities in Germany with more than 100,000 inhabitants, seventh-largest city ...

for her life's work.Erste Vergabe des Bernd und Hilla Becher-Preises der Landeshauptstadt Düsseldorf
(in German)

2020 The jury noted: Richter died in Dresden at age 91 in a nursing home where she had lived for eight years after a stroke.Sie zeigte das Leben der Menschen in der DDR
(in German) ''Sächsische Zeitung'' 11 October 2021
(in German) ''Sächsische Zeitung'' 11 October 2021

Publications

Publications by Richter

* ''Arrested Time'' = ''Stillgehaltene Zeit''. Heidelberg: Braus, 2002. Edited by Astrid Ihle. . With a text by Matthias Flg̈ge. In German and English. Catalogue published "on the occasion of the Evelyn Richter exhibition in the Goethe Institute in Washington DC, from November 6, 2002 until January 10, 2003, and in the Leica Gallery in New York City from January 30, 2003 to March 1, 2003".

Publications with contributions by Richter

* ''Wer War Wer in der DDR?'' Berlin: Links, 2010. By Helmut Müller-Enbergs. .

Awards

* 1975: ''Ehrenpreis für Fotografie des Kulturbundes der DDR'' * 1978: ''Ehrenpreis'' of then

photokina Photokina is a trade fair held in Europe for the photographic and imaging industries. It is the world's largest such trade fair. The first Photokina was held in Cologne, Germany, in 1950, and since 1966 it has been held biennially in Septemb ...

in Cologne * 1992: ''Kulturpreis der Deutschen Gesellschaft für Photographie'' of the German Photographic Society * 1997:

Villa Massimo Villa Massimo, short for Deutsche Akademie Rom Villa Massimo (), is a German cultural institution in Rome, established in 1910 and located in the Villa Massimo. The fellowship of the German Academy in Rome, often referred to as the German Rome P ...

* 1992: Culture Award,

, Cologne * 2006: ''Kunstpreis der Landeshauptstadt Dresden'' (Art prize of the state capital of Dresden) * 2020: Bernd und Hilla Becher-Preis

Exhibitions

Solo exhibitions

* 2002/2003:

Goethe-Institut The Goethe-Institut (; GI, ''Goethe Institute'') is a Nonprofit organization, nonprofit German culture, cultural organization operational worldwide with more than 150 cultural centres, promoting the study of the German language abroad and en ...

, Washington, D.C., November 2002 – January 2003

Group exhibitions

* 2010: ''Eros und Stasi. Ostdeutsche Fotografie Sammlung Gabriele Koenig,''

Ludwig Forum für Internationale Kunst The Ludwig Forum for International Art is a museum for modern art in Aachen. It is based on the Ludwig Collection, which was brought together by the Aachen collector couple Irene and Peter Ludwig, and is supported by the Peter and Irene Ludwig F ...

, Aachen. * 2012/2013: ''The Shuttered Society: Art Photography in the GDR 1949-1989,''

Berlinische Galerie The Berlinische Galerie is a museum of modern art, photography and architecture in Berlin. It is located in Kreuzberg, on Alte Jakobstraße, not far from the Jewish Museum. The Berlinische Galerie collects art created in Berlin since 1870 with a ...

, Berlin. * 2016: ''Gehaltene Zeit.

, Evelyn Richter'',

, Leipzig. * 2016: ''Die Lehre. Arno Fischer, Evelyn Richter'', Art gallery of Sparkasse Leipzig. Common catalog.''Kunst kommt nicht von Künstlichkeit'' in FAZ from 1 August 2016, page 15

Explanatory notes

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Richter, Evelyn 1930 births 2021 deaths 20th-century German women photographers 20th-century German photographers 21st-century German photographers 21st-century German women 21st-century German women photographers East German photographers East German women Hochschule für Grafik und Buchkunst Leipzig alumni People from Bautzen Photographers from Saxony Social documentary photographers German women photojournalists