Evelyn Richter (31 January 1930 – 10 October 2021) was a German art photographer known primarily for

social documentary photography Social documentary photography or concerned photography is the recording of what the world looks like, with a social and/or environmental focus. It is a form of documentary photography, with the aim to draw the public's attention to ongoing socia ...

work in East Germany. She is notable for her black & white photography in which she documented working-class life, and which often showed influences of Dadaism and

futurism Futurism ( it, Futurismo, link=no) was an artistic and social movement that originated in Italy, and to a lesser extent in other countries, in the early 20th century. It emphasized dynamism, speed, technology, youth, violence, and objects such ...

. Her photography is focused on people in everyday life, including children, workers (especially women), artists and musicians. She taught photography both at the

Hochschule für Grafik und Buchkunst Leipzig The Hochschule für Grafik und Buchkunst (HGB) or Academy of Fine Arts Leipzig is one of the oldest art schools in Germany, dating back to 1764. The school has four colleges specializing in fine arts, graphic design Graphic design is a profe ...

, where she had studied, from 1981, as in the 1990s, at the Fachhochschule in Bielefeld. Her work became known internationally only after German reunification. She received awards such as the Culture Award from the German Society for Photography, the Art Prize of Dresden, and the Bernd und Hilla Becher-Preis for her life's work.

Life and work

Richter was born in Bautzen in 1930.Evelyn Richter
(in German) Saxon Academy of Arts After completing a photographic apprenticeship in Dresden with Franz Fiedler and Pan Walther from 1948 to 1951, Richter worked as a laboratory assistant at the Vereinigte Kaufstätten Dresden and as a photographer at the TU Dresden. In 1953, she enrolled at the

(HGB) to study Fotografik (graphic photography) with Johannes Widmann, professor of the Institute of Photography. She also studied book design, working with Walter Schiller and . In 1955, she was removed as a student for her "independent interests and pictorial ideas which are foreign to the demands of a realistic socialist art." Richter worked as a freelance photographer, working for such clients as the Leipzig Trade Fair and Sibylle magazine, while simultaneously building a body of work documenting life, work, and societal change in East Germany. Her photographs frequently explored the relationship between industrial machinery and the human (often female) operators. Her focus was portraits of people in everyday situations, such as children, artists, poets and musicians, and she waited patiently for the right moment. She followed the violinist

David Oistrach David Fyodorovich Oistrakh (; – 24 October 1974), was a Soviet classical violinist, violist and conductor. Oistrakh collaborated with major orchestras and musicians from many parts of the world and was the dedicatee of numerous violin w ...

, travelling to concerts and rehearsals, and made a photo book about him. Richter taught photography at the HGB from 1981, as an honorary professor from 1991 to 2002. In the 1990s, she also taught at the Fachhochschule in Bielefeld. The Evelyn Richter Archive, with over 730 of her photographs, has been housed at the

Museum der bildenden Künste The Museum der bildenden Künste (German: "Museum of Fine Arts") is a museum in Leipzig, Saxony, Germany. It covers artworks from the Late Middle Ages to Modernity. History Museum Foundation and First Museum The museum dates back to the fo ...

(Museum of Fine Arts) in Leipzig since 2009. An exhibition of her works was held in 2010 on the occasion of her 80th birthday at the Leonhardimuseum Dresden. In 2016, her photographies were exhibited in a group show, ''Gehaltene Zeit'', together with works by

Ursula Arnold Ursula Arnold (born Ursula Musche 10 March 1929 – died 24 May 2012) was a German photographer. Much of her best known work involves street scenes in Berlin and Leipzig produced during the German Democratic Republic years. Living under a one-pa ...

and Arno Fischer, at the

, Leipzig. In 2020, she was the first recipient of the Bernd und Hilla Becher-Preis of Düsseldorf for her life's work.Erste Vergabe des Bernd und Hilla Becher-Preises der Landeshauptstadt Düsseldorf
(in German) Düsseldorf 2020 The jury noted: Richter died in Dresden at age 91 in a nursing home where she had lived for eight years after a stroke.Sie zeigte das Leben der Menschen in der DDR
(in German) ''Sächsische Zeitung'' 11 October 2021
(in German) ''Sächsische Zeitung'' 11 October 2021

Publications

Publications by Richter

* ''Arrested Time'' = ''Stillgehaltene Zeit''. Heidelberg: Braus, 2002. Edited by Astrid Ihle. . With a text by Matthias Flg̈ge. In German and English. Catalogue published "on the occasion of the Evelyn Richter exhibition in the Goethe Institute in Washington DC, from November 6, 2002 until January 10, 2003, and in the Leica Gallery in New York City from January 30, 2003 to March 1, 2003".

Publications with contributions by Richter

* ''Wer War Wer in der DDR?'' Berlin: Links, 2010. By Helmut Müller-Enbergs. .

Awards

* 1975: ''Ehrenpreis für Fotografie des Kulturbundes der DDR'' * 1978: ''Ehrenpreis'' of then photokina in Cologne * 1992: ''Kulturpreis der Deutschen Gesellschaft für Photographie'' of the German Photographic Society * 1997: Villa Massimo * 1992: Culture Award, German Society for Photography, Cologne * 2006: ''Kunstpreis der Landeshauptstadt Dresden'' (Art prize of the state capital of Dresden) * 2020: Bernd und Hilla Becher-Preis

Exhibitions

Solo exhibitions

* 2002/2003:

Goethe-Institut The Goethe-Institut (, GI, en, Goethe Institute) is a non-profit German cultural association operational worldwide with 159 institutes, promoting the study of the German language abroad and encouraging international cultural exchange and ...

, Washington, D.C., November 2002 – January 2003

Group exhibitions

* 2010: ''Eros und Stasi. Ostdeutsche Fotografie Sammlung Gabriele Koenig,'' Ludwig Forum für Internationale Kunst, Aachen. * 2012/2013: ''The Shuttered Society: Art Photography in the GDR 1949-1989,''

Berlinische Galerie The Berlinische Galerie is a museum of modern art, photography and architecture in Berlin. It is located in Kreuzberg, on Alte Jakobstraße, not far from the Jewish Museum. History The Berlinische Galerie was founded in 1975

, Berlin. * 2016: ''Gehaltene Zeit.

, Arno Fischer, Evelyn Richter'',

, Leipzig. * 2016: ''Die Lehre. Arno Fischer, Evelyn Richter'', Art gallery of Sparkasse Leipzig. Common catalog.''Kunst kommt nicht von Künstlichkeit'' in FAZ from 1 August 2016, page 15

Explanatory notes

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Richter, Evelyn 1930 births 2021 deaths 20th-century German women 20th-century women photographers 21st-century German photographers 21st-century German women 21st-century women photographers East German photographers East German women German women photographers Hochschule für Grafik und Buchkunst Leipzig alumni People from Bautzen Photographers from Saxony Social documentary photographers Women photojournalists