Anya Teixeira
Encyclopedia
Anya Teixeira was a street photographer and photojournalist.
Teixeira's family escaped the Russian Revolution
through a rescue mounted by her uncle Morris Gest
, a New York
impresario
. The family settled in Berlin
in 1924 so as to be near at hand for the expected overthrow of the Bolshevik
regime. Fifteen years later her family had to flee from the Nazis. Arriving in England
in April, 1939, she found that refugees like her were only allowed to be domestic servants or factory workers but she was eventually allowed an office
job. She was to be penned into various secretarial positions until her retirement
in 1975. Photography was a spare time activity taken up seriously as late as 47. Three years later she co-founded the Creative Photo Group in London
which drew approval from the historians Helmut
and Alison Gernsheim in their book, "A Concise History of Photography".
Teixeira's family escaped the Russian Revolution
Russian Revolution of 1917
The Russian Revolution is the collective term for a series of revolutions in Russia in 1917, which destroyed the Tsarist autocracy and led to the creation of the Soviet Union. The Tsar was deposed and replaced by a provisional government in the first revolution of February 1917...
through a rescue mounted by her uncle Morris Gest
Morris Gest
Morris Gest was a Jewish-American theatrical producer of the early 20th century.-Early life:Born in Vilna, now Lithuania, the son of Leon and Elizabeth Gershonovitz...
, a New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
impresario
Impresario
An impresario is a person who organizes and often finances concerts, plays or operas; analogous to a film producer in filmmaking, television production and an angel investor in business...
. The family settled in Berlin
Berlin
Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...
in 1924 so as to be near at hand for the expected overthrow of the Bolshevik
Bolshevik
The Bolsheviks, originally also Bolshevists , derived from bol'shinstvo, "majority") were a faction of the Marxist Russian Social Democratic Labour Party which split apart from the Menshevik faction at the Second Party Congress in 1903....
regime. Fifteen years later her family had to flee from the Nazis. Arriving in England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
in April, 1939, she found that refugees like her were only allowed to be domestic servants or factory workers but she was eventually allowed an office
Office
An office is generally a room or other area in which people work, but may also denote a position within an organization with specific duties attached to it ; the latter is in fact an earlier usage, office as place originally referring to the location of one's duty. When used as an adjective, the...
job. She was to be penned into various secretarial positions until her retirement
Retirement
Retirement is the point where a person stops employment completely. A person may also semi-retire by reducing work hours.Many people choose to retire when they are eligible for private or public pension benefits, although some are forced to retire when physical conditions don't allow the person to...
in 1975. Photography was a spare time activity taken up seriously as late as 47. Three years later she co-founded the Creative Photo Group in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
which drew approval from the historians Helmut
Helmut Gernsheim
Helmut Erich Robert Kuno Gernsheim was a renowned historian of photography, collector, and photographer.-Biography:Born in Munich, Germany, Gernsheim studied art history at the Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich...
and Alison Gernsheim in their book, "A Concise History of Photography".
Exhibitions
- 'Fotoarbeiten', Congress Centrum, HamburgHamburg-History:The first historic name for the city was, according to Claudius Ptolemy's reports, Treva.But the city takes its modern name, Hamburg, from the first permanent building on the site, a castle whose construction was ordered by the Emperor Charlemagne in AD 808...
- On Stage', Camden Arts CentreCamden Arts CentreCamden Arts Centre is a contemporary visual art gallery, dedicated to engaging living artists from across the world. Positioning the artist at the centre of the programme, Camden Arts Centre strives to involve the public in the ideas and work of today's artists.The exhibition and education...
, London - Dancing in the Streets', Camden Arts CentreCamden Arts CentreCamden Arts Centre is a contemporary visual art gallery, dedicated to engaging living artists from across the world. Positioning the artist at the centre of the programme, Camden Arts Centre strives to involve the public in the ideas and work of today's artists.The exhibition and education...
, London - World Press Photo, The HagueThe HagueThe Hague is the capital city of the province of South Holland in the Netherlands. With a population of 500,000 inhabitants , it is the third largest city of the Netherlands, after Amsterdam and Rotterdam...
- Photokina (awarded Crystal Obelisk) CologneCologneCologne is Germany's fourth-largest city , and is the largest city both in the Germany Federal State of North Rhine-Westphalia and within the Rhine-Ruhr Metropolitan Area, one of the major European metropolitan areas with more than ten million inhabitants.Cologne is located on both sides of the...
- 'Art for Society', Whitechapel Art Gallery, London
- Midland Art Centre, BirminghamBirminghamBirmingham is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands of England. It is the most populous British city outside the capital London, with a population of 1,036,900 , and lies at the heart of the West Midlands conurbation, the second most populous urban area in the United Kingdom with a...
- Midland Group, NottinghamNottinghamNottingham is a city and unitary authority in the East Midlands of England. It is located in the ceremonial county of Nottinghamshire and represents one of eight members of the English Core Cities Group...
- British Council Travelling Exhibition (IndiaIndiaIndia , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
, PakistanPakistanPakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...
, Sri LankaSri LankaSri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka is a country off the southern coast of the Indian subcontinent. Known until 1972 as Ceylon , Sri Lanka is an island surrounded by the Indian Ocean, the Gulf of Mannar and the Palk Strait, and lies in the vicinity of India and the...
) - British Council Theatre Exhibition, LisbonLisbonLisbon is the capital city and largest city of Portugal with a population of 545,245 within its administrative limits on a land area of . The urban area of Lisbon extends beyond the administrative city limits with a population of 3 million on an area of , making it the 9th most populous urban...
- British Council Fringe Theatre Exhibition, VenezuelaVenezuelaVenezuela , officially called the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela , is a tropical country on the northern coast of South America. It borders Colombia to the west, Guyana to the east, and Brazil to the south...
- Women's Images of Men, ICAInstitute of Contemporary ArtsThe Institute of Contemporary Arts is an artistic and cultural centre on The Mall in London, just off Trafalgar Square. It is located within Nash House, part of Carlton House Terrace, near the Duke of York Steps and Admiralty Arch...
, London
Quote on photography
"I find it somewhat difficult to make statements about my work in words and think that this is best done through my photography, but the following observations may serve. I like experimentation in photography but not overstepping the dividing line between artistic expression and gimmickry for its own sake. Though attracted by abstracts and graphic shapes, I find people the most rewarding subject because of the infinite variety this offers. As I am involved with theatrical photography and believe that specialization can be limiting, I like to compensate by taking people 'off stage' or rather off guard, children in particular."Resources
- Dr Walter Boje (Editor) Foto Prisma, April 1963
- Anya Teixeira (Contributor) AP, Calls for formation of Creative Photo Group, 14 August 1963
- Ainslie Ellis (Reviewer) British Journal of Photography, 16 October 1964
- Anya Teixeira (Invited Reviewer) The Photographic Journal of the Royal Photographic Society, November 1967