582 - Adolf Herz (Novy Jičín 1862 - 1947 Lucerne)

Adolf Herz (Novy Jičín 1862 - 1947 Lucerne) Woman reading, 1916 vintage gelatin silver print 29,2 x 22,1 cm signed and dated 1916 by the photographer in pencil in lower left of the mount, monogrammed AH in upper right in the negative Mounted, Minor imperfections only SCHÄTZPREIS / ESTIMATE € 600 - 1200 STARTPREIS / STARTING PRICE € 600 Adolf Herz (1862–1947) was an Austrian engineer, amateur photographer, and significant patron of artistic photography. As a photographer, he focused particularly on everyday life in Vienna and the city's coffeehouse culture, working in the spirit of international Pictorialism. In 1922, together with the Lucerne-based publisher Carl Josef Bucher, he founded the photography magazine *Camera*, which rapidly developed into an internationally acclaimed platform for artistic photography. Herz served as editor-in-chief until 1947, playing a decisive role in shaping the magazine's early direction. Adolf Herz’s photographic and publishing activities were closely linked to international Pictorialism. Under his leadership, *Camera* showcased the work of figures such as Heinrich Kühn, Alfred Stieglitz, Edward Steichen, James Craig Annan, Léonard Misonne, and Robert Demachy; Constant Puyo was also part of this circle of European art photographers. Herz thus made a significant contribution to establishing photography as an independent art form and fostering exchange between European and American photographers. At the same time, his work must be viewed within the context of Jewish cultural history and his own photographic exploration of urban life in Vienna. Throughout his tenure, which lasted until 1947, *Camera* remained deeply committed to Pictorialism; it was only after his departure that the magazine increasingly opened itself to the new currents of modern photography. PLEASE NOTE: The purchase price consists of the highest bid plus the buyer's premium, sales tax and, if applicable, the fee of artists resale rights and platform fee. In the case of normal taxation (marked ° at the estimate), a premium of 24% is added to the highest bid. The mandatory sales tax is added to the sum of the highest bid, the buyer's premium and platform fee. This amounts to 13% for paintings, drawings, graphic works and sculptures and 20% for photographs and all other items. The buyer's premium amounts to 28% in case of differential taxation. The sales tax is included in the differential taxation.