Willi (Willie) Huttig (28 March 1909 – 27 December 2001) was a German photographer and alpinist.

Early life

Willi (referred to as 'Willie' in English references) Huttig was born on 28 March 1909 in

Chodov Chodov () may refer to places in the Czech Republic: *Chodov (Sokolov District), a town in the Karlovy Vary Region * Chodov (Karlovy Vary District), a municipality and village in the Karlovy Vary Region * Chodov (Domažlice District), a municipalit ...

Bohemia Bohemia ( ; cs, Čechy ; ; hsb, Čěska; szl, Czechy) is the westernmost and largest historical region of the Czech Republic. Bohemia can also refer to a wider area consisting of the historical Lands of the Bohemian Crown ruled by the Bohem ...

(today in the

Czech Republic The Czech Republic, or simply Czechia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Historically known as Bohemia, it is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the southeast. The ...

) into a significant regional photographic family. His grandfather, Wenzl Fritsch (1842–1916), founded the first photographic studio in the region in 1884 and by the beginning of the 20th century owned and operated photographic studios, in addition to the original in Chodov, in

Karlovy Vary Karlovy Vary (; german: Karlsbad, formerly also spelled ''Carlsbad'' in English) is a spa town, spa city in the Karlovy Vary Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 46,000 inhabitants. It lies on the confluence of the rivers Ohře and Teplá. ...

, Drahovice, Stará Role,

Loket Loket (; german: Elbogen) is a town of in Sokolov District in the Karlovy Vary Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 3,100 inhabitants. The town centre itself features Loket Castle, a 12th-century Gothic castle. The town centre is well prese ...

and

Jáchymov Jáchymov (); german: Sankt Joachimsthal or ''Joachimsthal'') is a spa town in Karlovy Vary District in the Karlovy Vary Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 2,300 inhabitants. The historical core of the town from the 16th century is we ...

. After the death of Wenzl Fritsch during the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, his son, Willi Fritsch took on management of the company and maintained the head office in Chodov, where he built a house with a studio in what today i
Tyršova Street

Professional photographer

After 1932, the young Willi Huttig, who had worked for his grandfather and uncle, took over the management of the established company. He became a respected portraitist and also conducted business in picture

postcard A postcard or post card is a piece of thick paper or thin cardboard, typically rectangular, intended for writing and mailing without an envelope. Non-rectangular shapes may also be used but are rare. There are novelty exceptions, such as wood ...

s in partnership with Richard Wörsching who in 1932 won a contract to photograph landscapes of Starnberg and environment for advertising purposes and the sole right to photograph and film on the lake promenade and in the popular urban bathing beach of Starnberg. By the mid-30s, in addition to his wife and assistant, Vera (and later, his son Thomas), Huttig had employed fourteen co-workers, giving him some leisure to pursue his lifelong passion as an alpinist. His pictures taken while mountain climbing garnered awards at more than twenty international exhibitions during the 1930s; in

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and

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among others. Huttig’s successful career was interrupted by the

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, in which he participated as a photographer at the front. After returning post-war to Chodov, which had been annexed by Nazi Germany as part of the

Sudetenland The Sudetenland ( , ; Czech and sk, Sudety) is the historical German name for the northern, southern, and western areas of former Czechoslovakia which were inhabited primarily by Sudeten Germans. These German speakers had predominated in the ...

, and from which all Germans were being expelled, he found his shop confiscated. He managed to secure work with an American military crew and left with them for

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

at the end of 1945. With him he took only two cameras and a few of his pre-war images and negatives, leaving everything else in his house in Tyršova Street. In Germany he worked as a photographer for the US Army magazine Stars and Stripes. In 1947 he settled at Hauptstraße 25, Starnberg on the

Starnberger See Lake Starnberg, or ''Starnberger See'' ) — called Lake Würm, or ''Würmsee'' , until 1962 — is Germany's second-largest body of fresh water, having great depth, and fifth-largest lake by area. It and its surroundings lie in three different Ba ...

(lake) in

Upper Bavaria Upper Bavaria (german: Oberbayern, ; ) is one of the seven administrative districts of Bavaria, Germany. Geography Upper Bavaria is located in the southern portion of Bavaria, and is centered on the city of Munich, both state capital and seat o ...

25 km from

Munich Munich ( ; german: München ; bar, Minga ) is the capital and most populous city of the States of Germany, German state of Bavaria. With a population of 1,558,395 inhabitants as of 31 July 2020, it is the List of cities in Germany by popu ...

, at the foothills of the

Alps The Alps () ; german: Alpen ; it, Alpi ; rm, Alps ; sl, Alpe . are the highest and most extensive mountain range system that lies entirely in Europe, stretching approximately across seven Alpine countries (from west to east): France, Sw ...

, and there opened a photographic studio.

Recognition

In 1955 Huttig’s photograph of a priest officiating at a funeral in the snow, surrounded by mourners under umbrellas, was featured in

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’s world-touring

The Family of Man ''The Family of Man'' was an ambitious exhibition of 503 photography, photographs from 68 countries curated by Edward Steichen, the director of the New York City Museum of Modern Art's (MoMA) Department of Photography. According to Steichen, ...

exhibitio

curated by

Edward Steichen Edward Jean Steichen (March 27, 1879 – March 25, 1973) was a Luxembourgish American photographer, painter, and curator, renowned as one of the most prolific and influential figures in the history of photography. Steichen was credited with tr ...

, which was seen by nine million visitors. In 1959 he photographed Pvt

Elvis Presley Elvis Aaron Presley (January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977), or simply Elvis, was an American singer and actor. Dubbed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, King of Rock and Roll", he is regarded as Cultural impact of Elvis Presley, one ...

during his stint with the US Army's Armored Division in Germany. Elvis used a three-day pass to visit Munich and Huttig was contracted to make publicity shots of him with 18-year-old German actress

Vera Tschechowa Vera Wilhelmowna Rust (born 22 July 1940), known as Vera Tschechowa, is a German producer, director, screenwriter, and retired actress, of Russian descent. She appeared in more than 50 films between 1957 and 1996. She was widely known as Elvis P ...

, which were important for keeping alive Elvis' reputation with his fans during his army service years. During his life, Huttig won awards at forty-eight international exhibitions around the world. His work is held in the collection of the

Museum Folkwang Museum Folkwang is a major collection of 19th- and 20th-century art in Essen, Germany. The museum was established in 1922 by merging the Essener Kunstmuseum, which was founded in 1906, and the private Folkwang Museum of the collector and patr ...

, Museumsplatz 1, 45128 Essen.

Recent exhibitions

* ''Willi Huttig: Hiking photographer'' August 12 – September 25, 2017, Galerie U Vavřince, Staroměstská 39, Chodov. * ''Willi Huttig - Fotografie'' August 13, 2018 at Stadtbibliothek in der Roten Schule in Oelsnitz/E.

Mountaineer

Willi Huttig was a keen mountaineer. For the Starnberg section of the Alpine trail in 1968, as its first chairman, he acquired a high-alpine hut, the Hohenzollernhaus at 2123

After negotiations with the main committee of the German Alpine Club, Deutsche Alpenverein (DAV) and its Berlin section, the Starnberg section was able to purchase the Hohenzollernhaus in 1978, and after renovations made it the first DAV hut and a vital asset in mountain rescues.Deutscher Alpenverein (ab 1938). (2005). ''DAV Panorama: Magazin des Deutschen Alpenvereins''. München: DAV.4/2005 p.52

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Huttig, Willi 1909 births 2001 deaths Photographers from Bavaria Sudeten German people People from Sokolov District