Lucien Aigner (14 September 1901 – 29 March 1999) was a Hungarian

photojournalist Photojournalism is journalism that uses images to tell a news story. It usually only refers to still images, but can also refer to video used in broadcast journalism. Photojournalism is distinguished from other close branches of photography (such ...

Life and work

Aigner was born in Érsekújvár,

Austria-Hungary Austria-Hungary, often referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire,, the Dual Monarchy, or Austria, was a constitutional monarchy and great power in Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. It was formed with the Austro-Hungarian Compromise of ...

(now called

Nové Zámky Nové Zámky (; hu, Érsekújvár; german: Neuhäus ; la, Novum Castrum; tr, Uyvar) is a town in Nové Zámky District in the Nitra Region of southwestern Slovakia. Geography The town is located on the Danubian Lowland, on the Nitra River, ...

Slovakia Slovakia (; sk, Slovensko ), officially the Slovak Republic ( sk, Slovenská republika, links=no ), is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east, Hungary to the south, Austria to the s ...

). His first camera, a Brownie, was acquired at age nine and was used to photograph his family. By 1926, Aigner was a reporter for ''Az Est,'' the Hungarian newspaper group, and soon became a photographer with them. During this time, Aigner started using a

Leica camera Leica Camera AG () is a German company that manufactures cameras, optical lenses, photographic lenses, binoculars, Telescopic sight, rifle scopes and microscopes. The company was founded by Ernst Leitz in 1869 (Ernst Leitz Wetzlar), in Wetz ...

. As the

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

correspondent of the ''London General Press'' at the Stresa Conference of 1935, Aigner photographed

Benito Mussolini Benito Amilcare Andrea Mussolini (; 29 July 188328 April 1945) was an Italian politician and journalist who founded and led the National Fascist Party. He was Prime Minister of Italy from the March on Rome in 1922 until his deposition in 194 ...

, who was about to sneeze as the picture was taken. The photo made the cover of ''Newsweek'' in 1940, and established Aigner as a

. In 1941 he emigrated from

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

to the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

to escape

Nazi Nazism ( ; german: Nazismus), the common name in English for National Socialism (german: Nationalsozialismus, ), is the far-right totalitarian political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in ...

persecution. He then spent time at

Princeton University Princeton University is a private university, private research university in Princeton, New Jersey. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth, New Jersey, Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the List of Colonial Colleges, fourth-oldest ins ...

taking photographs of

Albert Einstein Albert Einstein ( ; ; 14 March 1879 – 18 April 1955) was a German-born theoretical physicist, widely acknowledged to be one of the greatest and most influential physicists of all time. Einstein is best known for developing the theory ...

. The photos of Einstein are among Aigner's most famous, and were reportedly Einstein's favorite photos of himself. Aigner was the older brother of fashionable leather-goods manufacturer

Etienne Aigner Étienne Aigner (November 8, 1904 – November 5, 2000) was the founder of Etienne Aigner US and Etienne Aigner AG, two presently separate high fashion houses, based respectively in New York City and Munich, Germany. Both companies produce luxury g ...

. He died in

Waltham, Massachusetts Waltham ( ) is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States, and was an early center for the labor movement as well as a major contributor to the American Industrial Revolution. The original home of the Boston Manufacturing Company, th ...

References

* Jeffrey, Ian ''et al.'' (1997). ''The Photography Book.'' London:

Phaidon Press Phaidon Press is a global publisher of books on art, architecture, design, fashion, photography, and popular culture, as well as cookbooks, children's books, and travel books. The company is based in London and New York City, with additional off ...

.
Lucien Aigner: Picture Stories: Vintage Early Works: 17 April – 16 June 2001

Bruce Silverstein Gallery Bruce Silverstein Gallery is a photographic art gallery in the Chelsea section of Manhattan, New York City. It was started in 2001 by Bruce Silverstein. Archived February 6, 2008. The gallery is a member of the Association of International Pho ...

External links

Biography and image collection
at

Luminous-Lint Luminous-Lint (or Luminous Lint) is a website on photography, run by Alan Griffiths, on vintage and contemporary photography. The site also serves as a collaborative knowledge base on the history of photography and as of 2023 included more than 1 ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Aigner, Lucien 1901 births 1999 deaths People from Nové Zámky Hungarian photographers American photojournalists Hungarian emigrants to the United States