Grete Stern
Encyclopedia
Grete Stern was an German
(later nationalized Argentine) photographer. Along with her husband, she presented the first exhibition of modern photographic art in Buenos Aires in 1935.
in the Kunstgewerbeschule
, Stuttgart
, from 1923 to 1925, but after a short term working in the field she was inspired by the photography of Edward Weston
and Paul Outerbridge
to change her focus to photography. Relocating to Berlin, she took private lessons from Walter Peterhans
. There, she met fellow student Ellen Auerbach
, with whom she later shared a critically acclaimed, prize-winning Berlin
-based photography and design studio, ringl+pit, opened in 1930 with equipment purchased from Peterhans. Intermittently between April 1930 and March 1933, Stern continued her studies with Peterhans at the Bauhaus
photography workshop in Dessau, where she met an Argentian photographer named Horacio Coppola. The political climate of Nazi Germany
led her to emigrate with her brother to England, where Stern set up a new studio, soon to resume her collaboration there with Auerbach.
Stern first traveled to Argentina in company of her new husband, as she married Horacio Coppola in 1935. The newlyweds mounted an exhibition in Buenos Aires
at Sur magazine., which, according to the magazine, iwas the first modern photography exhibition in Argentina. After a brief return to England, Stern settled in Argentina to raise a family, daughter Silvia and son Andrés, remaining even after she and Coppola divorced in 1943. Eventually, in 1958, she became a citizen.
Stern and Coppola together ran a studio from 1937 to 1941. Around the time of the divorce, Stern began exhibiting individually, including, starting in the 1970s, internationally, returning particularly to her native country to exhibit in 1975 and 1978. She provided photographs for magazine and served for a stint as a photography teacher in Resistencia
at the National University of the Northeast
in 1959. From 1956 until 1970, she was in charge of organizing and directing the photography workshop of the Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes.
In 1985, she retired from photography, but lived another 14 years until 1999, dying in Buenos Aires on December 24 at the age of 95.
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...
(later nationalized Argentine) photographer. Along with her husband, she presented the first exhibition of modern photographic art in Buenos Aires in 1935.
Biography
The daughter of Frida Hochberger and Louis Stern, Stern was born on May 9, 1904, in Elberfeld, Germany. She often visited family in England and attended elementary school there. After reaching adulthood, she began studying graphic artsGraphic arts
A type of fine art, graphic art covers a broad range of art forms. Graphic art is typically two-dimensional and includes calligraphy, photography, drawing, painting, printmaking, lithography, typography, serigraphy , and bindery. Graphic art also consists of drawn plans and layouts for interior...
in the Kunstgewerbeschule
Kunstgewerbeschule
A Kunstgewerbeschule was the old name for an advanced school of applied arts in German-speaking countries. The first such schools were opened in Kassel in 1867 and Berlin and Munich in 1868 with other German towns following. They are now merged into universities....
, Stuttgart
Stuttgart
Stuttgart is the capital of the state of Baden-Württemberg in southern Germany. The sixth-largest city in Germany, Stuttgart has a population of 600,038 while the metropolitan area has a population of 5.3 million ....
, from 1923 to 1925, but after a short term working in the field she was inspired by the photography of Edward Weston
Edward Weston
Edward Henry Weston was a 20th century American photographer. He has been called "one of the most innovative and influential American photographers…" and "one of the masters of 20th century photography." Over the course of his forty-year career Weston photographed an increasingly expansive set of...
and Paul Outerbridge
Paul Outerbridge
Paul Outerbridge, Jr. was an American photographer prominent for his early use and experiments in color photography...
to change her focus to photography. Relocating to Berlin, she took private lessons from Walter Peterhans
Walter Peterhans
Walter Peterhans was a German photographer best known as a teacher and course leader of photography at the Bauhaus from 1929 through 1933, and his subsequent immigration to Chicago in 1938 to teach the 'visual training' course to architecture students at Illinois Institute of Technology under the...
. There, she met fellow student Ellen Auerbach
Ellen Auerbach
Ellen Auerbach was a German-born American photographer who is best remembered for her innovative artwork for the Ringl & Pit studio in Berlin during the Weimar Republic.-External links:...
, with whom she later shared a critically acclaimed, prize-winning 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...
-based photography and design studio, ringl+pit, opened in 1930 with equipment purchased from Peterhans. Intermittently between April 1930 and March 1933, Stern continued her studies with Peterhans at the Bauhaus
Bauhaus
', commonly known simply as Bauhaus, was a school in Germany that combined crafts and the fine arts, and was famous for the approach to design that it publicized and taught. It operated from 1919 to 1933. At that time the German term stood for "School of Building".The Bauhaus school was founded by...
photography workshop in Dessau, where she met an Argentian photographer named Horacio Coppola. The political climate of Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany , also known as the Third Reich , but officially called German Reich from 1933 to 1943 and Greater German Reich from 26 June 1943 onward, is the name commonly used to refer to the state of Germany from 1933 to 1945, when it was a totalitarian dictatorship ruled by...
led her to emigrate with her brother to England, where Stern set up a new studio, soon to resume her collaboration there with Auerbach.
Stern first traveled to Argentina in company of her new husband, as she married Horacio Coppola in 1935. The newlyweds mounted an exhibition in Buenos Aires
Buenos Aires
Buenos Aires is the capital and largest city of Argentina, and the second-largest metropolitan area in South America, after São Paulo. It is located on the western shore of the estuary of the Río de la Plata, on the southeastern coast of the South American continent...
at Sur magazine., which, according to the magazine, iwas the first modern photography exhibition in Argentina. After a brief return to England, Stern settled in Argentina to raise a family, daughter Silvia and son Andrés, remaining even after she and Coppola divorced in 1943. Eventually, in 1958, she became a citizen.
Stern and Coppola together ran a studio from 1937 to 1941. Around the time of the divorce, Stern began exhibiting individually, including, starting in the 1970s, internationally, returning particularly to her native country to exhibit in 1975 and 1978. She provided photographs for magazine and served for a stint as a photography teacher in Resistencia
Resistencia, Chaco
Resistencia is the capital and largest city in the province of Chaco, in northeastern Argentina. At the 2001 census, the population of the Resistencia city proper was 274,490 inhabitants. It is the anchor of a slightly larger metropolitan area, Greater Resistencia, which comprises three more...
at the National University of the Northeast
National University of the Northeast
The National University of the Northeast is an Argentine national university. It is located in the cities of Corrientes and Resistencia, capitals cities of the Provinces of Corrientes and Chaco respectively, and was established on December 4, 1956...
in 1959. From 1956 until 1970, she was in charge of organizing and directing the photography workshop of the Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes.
In 1985, she retired from photography, but lived another 14 years until 1999, dying in Buenos Aires on December 24 at the age of 95.