Women Émigré Photographers and Architecture in 1930s Britain
Presentation Type
Presentation
Start Date
8-3-2025 3:20 PM
Description
Valeria Carullo, Photographs Curator, Royal Institute of British Architects
Women Émigré Photographers and Architecture in 1930s Britain
The 1930s in Britain saw a great influx of émigré photographers, architects, artists and other professionals from Central Europe, as well as from other English-speaking countries. Towards the end of the decade, many of them were refugees trying to escape countries under Nazi rule, on account of either their ethnic or political background. Among the women photographers finding refuge in Britain during the 1930s, a small number received commissions to capture newly completed buildings. Like most of their British counterparts, they seem to have been unable or unwilling to specialise in this field, which was dominated by male photographers and photographic firms. However, they seem to have been more willing to work in what was considered a ‘commercial’ branch of photography than their male émigré counterparts, who in many cases focused on photojournalism and social documentary.
As Photographs Curator at the Royal Institute of British Architects, I was curious to find out how many women photographers from this period are represented in the RIBA Photographs Collection, and then investigate those who emigrated to Britain from Central Europe. This talk will therefore focus on the architectural photography of figures such as Edith Tudor-Hart, Bertl Sachsel, and Madeleine L. Sussmann in the context of their overall output and of British inter-war photography in general. Interestingly, they all seem to have been employed to photograph the then emerging modern architecture, including projects by fellow émigrés. The presentation will also consider their experiences in relation to those émigré female photographers who produced architectural imagery in other countries, such as France and the United States.
Valeria Carullo is Photographs Curator at the Royal Institute of British Architects. Her principal area of research is the relationship between modern architecture and modern photography in the inter-war years. She has curated or co-curated several exhibitions, both in Britain and abroad, including Ordinary Beauty: The Photography of Edwin Smith (RIBA Architecture Gallery, London, 2014), Eternal City: Rome in the Photographs Collection of the Royal Institute of British Architects (Vittoriano, Rome, 2018), Rationalism on Set: Glamour and Modernity in 1930s Italian Cinema (Estorick Collection of Modern Italian Art, London, 2018, and The Mac, Belfast, 2019) and Wide-Angle View: architecture as social space in the Manplan series 1969-70 (RIBA Architecture Gallery, London, 2023-24). Valeria regularly writes and lectures on both architectural and photographic subjects, and in 2019 she published the book Moholy-Nagy in Britain 1935-1937. She is co-organiser at the RIBA of the annual Colin Rowe Lectures, which explore the relationship between architecture and its image. In 2023 she organised the RIBA Photo Festival, the first international festival devoted to the photography of the built environment.
Relational Format
Conference proceeding
Recommended Citation
Carullo, Valeria, "Women Émigré Photographers and Architecture in 1930s Britain" (2025). Women of Photography: A 24-Hour Conference-a-thon Celebrating International Women’s Day 2025. 45.
https://egrove.olemiss.edu/womenofphotography/2025/schedule/45
Women Émigré Photographers and Architecture in 1930s Britain
Valeria Carullo, Photographs Curator, Royal Institute of British Architects
Women Émigré Photographers and Architecture in 1930s Britain
The 1930s in Britain saw a great influx of émigré photographers, architects, artists and other professionals from Central Europe, as well as from other English-speaking countries. Towards the end of the decade, many of them were refugees trying to escape countries under Nazi rule, on account of either their ethnic or political background. Among the women photographers finding refuge in Britain during the 1930s, a small number received commissions to capture newly completed buildings. Like most of their British counterparts, they seem to have been unable or unwilling to specialise in this field, which was dominated by male photographers and photographic firms. However, they seem to have been more willing to work in what was considered a ‘commercial’ branch of photography than their male émigré counterparts, who in many cases focused on photojournalism and social documentary.
As Photographs Curator at the Royal Institute of British Architects, I was curious to find out how many women photographers from this period are represented in the RIBA Photographs Collection, and then investigate those who emigrated to Britain from Central Europe. This talk will therefore focus on the architectural photography of figures such as Edith Tudor-Hart, Bertl Sachsel, and Madeleine L. Sussmann in the context of their overall output and of British inter-war photography in general. Interestingly, they all seem to have been employed to photograph the then emerging modern architecture, including projects by fellow émigrés. The presentation will also consider their experiences in relation to those émigré female photographers who produced architectural imagery in other countries, such as France and the United States.
Valeria Carullo is Photographs Curator at the Royal Institute of British Architects. Her principal area of research is the relationship between modern architecture and modern photography in the inter-war years. She has curated or co-curated several exhibitions, both in Britain and abroad, including Ordinary Beauty: The Photography of Edwin Smith (RIBA Architecture Gallery, London, 2014), Eternal City: Rome in the Photographs Collection of the Royal Institute of British Architects (Vittoriano, Rome, 2018), Rationalism on Set: Glamour and Modernity in 1930s Italian Cinema (Estorick Collection of Modern Italian Art, London, 2018, and The Mac, Belfast, 2019) and Wide-Angle View: architecture as social space in the Manplan series 1969-70 (RIBA Architecture Gallery, London, 2023-24). Valeria regularly writes and lectures on both architectural and photographic subjects, and in 2019 she published the book Moholy-Nagy in Britain 1935-1937. She is co-organiser at the RIBA of the annual Colin Rowe Lectures, which explore the relationship between architecture and its image. In 2023 she organised the RIBA Photo Festival, the first international festival devoted to the photography of the built environment.
Comments
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