August Sander

August Sander (born in Herdorf, Germany, 1876; died in Cologne, 1964) is lauded as one the most important portrait photographers of the twentieth century. From a farming and mining community east of Cologne, Sander first discovered photography at the local mine, while helping to carry the equipment of a company photographer. He went on to become involved with many of the avant-garde artistic ideas of his day, including the Neue Sachlichkeit (New Objectivity), a movement led by his friend, the...See more

August Sander (born in Herdorf, Germany, 1876; died in Cologne, 1964) is lauded as one the most important portrait photographers of the twentieth century. From a farming and mining community east of Cologne, Sander first discovered photography at the local mine, while helping to carry the equipment of a company photographer. He went on to become involved with many of the avant-garde artistic ideas of his day, including the Neue Sachlichkeit (New Objectivity), a movement led by his friend, the painter Otto Dix, which espoused realism and social commentary in art. He is best known for his series People of the 20th Century, which captured German society in an unflinching, typological approach that shaped the medium and has gone on to influence generations of artists. See less