Chris Nowotny
Encyclopedia
Chris Nowotny was a German
photographer, known for her highly stylized black and white portraits of actors, photographs of landscape, as well as colour and b/w portraits of children and babies.
in the former German province of East-Prussia (today better known as Kaliningrad
/ Russia
). During the invasion of the Russian Red Army
towards Königsberg she fled to Wilhelmshafen in the North of Germany with her mother. As a child of a midwife and a policeman she had no possibility to visit a university to study arts and therefore decided to learn the artisanry of a photographer. After a three-year traineeship at Oldenburg
/Germany she traveled to numerous places in Southern Germany, Austria
and Switzerland
to work as a portrait photographer. Some years later she worked as a landscape photographer and published several books. http://www.antikbuch24.de/suchergebnisse.php?searchPhrase=chris%20nowotny&seller_id=§ion=&sortType=3http://www.amazon.de/dp/3444060173 In 1953/1955 she was at the Vienna Higher Graphical Academy to successfully master her examination for the grade of master in photography.
In 1967 she gave birth to her son Niki :de:Niki Nowotny, who became an audio-book narrator
and journalist.
From the end of the 1960s on Chris Nowotny worked as a still photographer for the Munich
theaters and as a portrait photographer for many famous international TV stars and actors (e.g. Curd Jürgens
, Heinz Rühmann
, Telly Savalas
, Mel Ferrer
). Since 1977 she spezialized herself in portraits of children and babies for advertising and international photo agencys (e.g. Tony Stone Worldwide). Nowotny died on March 18, 1989, in Berg, Upper Bavaria
at Lake Starnberg
, near Munich from bowel cancer; she was 60 years old. In memory of her 80th birthday and the 850th anniversary of the city of Munich
a Munich-based publishing company http://www.brainscript.de published a book http://munich50years.de/Munich_50_Years/The_book.htmlhttp://www.nabehr.de/2010/11/17/bildband-munchen-50-jahre-in-bildern of her best shots from Munich. The book was an immediate success and sold out within four weeks.http://www.kulturigo.de/ueberraschungserfolg-im-weihnachtsgeschaeft-muenchen-bildband-nach-4-wochen-ausverkauft-318820.htmlhttp://www.presseecho.de/vermischtes/PE12922763764840.htm
cameras for decades. In the early 1970s, she acquired a Hasselblad
medium-format camera. She loved working in her home-based studio in Munich (and from 1985-1986 in Zurich
, Switzerland
), and worked mainly during nighttimes in her own darkroom to get out most of her negatives.
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
photographer, known for her highly stylized black and white portraits of actors, photographs of landscape, as well as colour and b/w portraits of children and babies.
Biography
Nowotny was born and grew up until her teennage years in KönigsbergKaliningrad
Kaliningrad is a seaport and the administrative center of Kaliningrad Oblast, the Russian exclave between Poland and Lithuania on the Baltic Sea...
in the former German province of East-Prussia (today better known as Kaliningrad
Kaliningrad
Kaliningrad is a seaport and the administrative center of Kaliningrad Oblast, the Russian exclave between Poland and Lithuania on the Baltic Sea...
/ Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
). During the invasion of the Russian Red Army
Red Army
The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army started out as the Soviet Union's revolutionary communist combat groups during the Russian Civil War of 1918-1922. It grew into the national army of the Soviet Union. By the 1930s the Red Army was among the largest armies in history.The "Red Army" name refers to...
towards Königsberg she fled to Wilhelmshafen in the North of Germany with her mother. As a child of a midwife and a policeman she had no possibility to visit a university to study arts and therefore decided to learn the artisanry of a photographer. After a three-year traineeship at Oldenburg
Oldenburg
Oldenburg is an independent city in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is situated in the western part of the state between the cities of Bremen and Groningen, Netherlands, at the Hunte river. It has a population of 160,279 which makes it the fourth biggest city in Lower Saxony after Hanover, Braunschweig...
/Germany she traveled to numerous places in Southern Germany, Austria
Austria
Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
and Switzerland
Switzerland
Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
to work as a portrait photographer. Some years later she worked as a landscape photographer and published several books. http://www.antikbuch24.de/suchergebnisse.php?searchPhrase=chris%20nowotny&seller_id=§ion=&sortType=3http://www.amazon.de/dp/3444060173 In 1953/1955 she was at the Vienna Higher Graphical Academy to successfully master her examination for the grade of master in photography.
In 1967 she gave birth to her son Niki :de:Niki Nowotny, who became an audio-book narrator
TKKG
The Junior detective series TKKG is a German series of audio dramas and novels created by "Stefan Wolf", a pseudonym used by Rolf Kalmuczak.- The characters and their creator :...
and journalist.
From the end of the 1960s on Chris Nowotny worked as a still photographer for the Munich
Munich
Munich The city's motto is "" . Before 2006, it was "Weltstadt mit Herz" . Its native name, , is derived from the Old High German Munichen, meaning "by the monks' place". The city's name derives from the monks of the Benedictine order who founded the city; hence the monk depicted on the city's coat...
theaters and as a portrait photographer for many famous international TV stars and actors (e.g. Curd Jürgens
Curd Jürgens
Curd Gustav Andreas Gottlieb Franz Jürgens was a German-Austrian stage and film actor. He was usually billed in English-speaking films as Curt Jurgens.-Early life:...
, Heinz Rühmann
Heinz Rühmann
Heinrich Wilhelm "Heinz" Rühmann was a popular German film actor.-Life and work:Rühmann was born in Essen, Westphalia. His role in the 1930 movie Die Drei von der Tankstelle led him to film stardom. He remained highly popular as a comedic actor throughout the 1930s and early 1940s...
, Telly Savalas
Telly Savalas
Aristotelis "Telly" Savalas was an American film and television actor and singer, whose career spanned four decades. Best known for playing the title role in the 1970s crime drama Kojak, Savalas was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his performance in Birdman of Alcatraz...
, Mel Ferrer
Mel Ferrer
Mel Ferrer was an American actor, film director and film producer.-Early life:Ferrer was born Melchor Gastón Ferrer in Elberon, New Jersey, of Catalan and Irish descent. His father, Dr. José María Ferrer , was born in Cuba, was an authority on pneumonia and served as chief of staff of St....
). Since 1977 she spezialized herself in portraits of children and babies for advertising and international photo agencys (e.g. Tony Stone Worldwide). Nowotny died on March 18, 1989, in Berg, Upper Bavaria
Berg, Upper Bavaria
Berg is a municipality in the district of Starnberg in Bavaria, Germany.It is most famous for the royal Castle Berg....
at Lake Starnberg
Lake Starnberg
Lake Starnberg , 25 kilometers southwest of Munich in southern Bavaria, is Germany's fifth largest freshwater lake and, due to its large average depth, the second richest in water...
, near Munich from bowel cancer; she was 60 years old. In memory of her 80th birthday and the 850th anniversary of the city of Munich
Munich
Munich The city's motto is "" . Before 2006, it was "Weltstadt mit Herz" . Its native name, , is derived from the Old High German Munichen, meaning "by the monks' place". The city's name derives from the monks of the Benedictine order who founded the city; hence the monk depicted on the city's coat...
a Munich-based publishing company http://www.brainscript.de published a book http://munich50years.de/Munich_50_Years/The_book.htmlhttp://www.nabehr.de/2010/11/17/bildband-munchen-50-jahre-in-bildern of her best shots from Munich. The book was an immediate success and sold out within four weeks.http://www.kulturigo.de/ueberraschungserfolg-im-weihnachtsgeschaeft-muenchen-bildband-nach-4-wochen-ausverkauft-318820.htmlhttp://www.presseecho.de/vermischtes/PE12922763764840.htm
Technique
Nowotny took her first photographs with a Leica Camera. Later on she used RolleiRollei
Rollei is a German manufacturer of optical goods founded in 1920 by Paul Franke and Reinhold Heidecke in Braunschweig, Lower Saxony, and maker of the Rolleiflex and Rolleicord series of cameras...
cameras for decades. In the early 1970s, she acquired a Hasselblad
Hasselblad
Victor Hasselblad AB is a Swedish manufacturer of medium-format cameras and photographic equipment based in Gothenburg, Sweden.The company is best known for the medium-format cameras it has produced since World War II....
medium-format camera. She loved working in her home-based studio in Munich (and from 1985-1986 in Zurich
Zürich
Zurich is the largest city in Switzerland and the capital of the canton of Zurich. It is located in central Switzerland at the northwestern tip of Lake Zurich...
, Switzerland
Switzerland
Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
), and worked mainly during nighttimes in her own darkroom to get out most of her negatives.
Literature
- Holst, Nowotny: Munich, London 1964
- Schreiber, Nowotny: Wien, Bern 1974 http://www.antikbuch24.de/suchergebnisse.php?searchPhrase=chris%20nowotny&seller_id=§ion=&sortType=3
- Schreiber: Salzburg und Salzburger Land, Bern 1975
- Schreiber: Das Schiff aus Stein - Venedig und die Venezianer, Munich 1979
- Nowotny, Behr: "München: 50 Jahre in Bildern - Munich: 50 years in pictures: Eine Liebeserklärung an eine Stadt. Fotografien von Mutter und Sohn. - A declaration of love to a city. Photography by mother and son.", Munich 2010 http://www.amazon.de/M%C3%BCnchen-pictures-Liebeserkl%C3%A4rung-Fotografien-Photography/dp/398086782X