Hans Felix Sigismund Baumann aka Felix H. Man (November 30, 1893 – January 30, 1985) was a photographer and later an

art collector A private collection is a privately owned collection of works (usually artworks) or valuable items. In a museum or art gallery context, the term signifies that a certain work is not owned by that institution, but is on loan from an individual ...

.Original version
In particular, he was a leading pioneer photojournalist, especially for ''

Picture Post ''Picture Post'' was a photojournalistic magazine published in the United Kingdom from 1938 to 1957. It is considered a pioneering example of photojournalism and was an immediate success, selling 1,700,000 copies a week after only two months. ...

''.

Life

Man was born in

Freiburg Freiburg im Breisgau (; abbreviated as Freiburg i. Br. or Freiburg i. B.; Low Alemannic: ''Friburg im Brisgau''), commonly referred to as Freiburg, is an independent city in Baden-Württemberg, Germany. With a population of about 230,000 (as o ...

Breisgau The Breisgau () is an area in southwest Germany between the Rhine River and the foothills of the Black Forest. Part of the state of Baden-Württemberg, it centers on the city of Freiburg im Breisgau. The district of Breisgau-Hochschwarzwald, ...

, Germany. After finishing school in Freiburg im Breisgau, from 1912 he studied art and

art history Art history is the study of aesthetic objects and visual expression in historical and stylistic context. Traditionally, the discipline of art history emphasized painting, drawing, sculpture, architecture, ceramics and decorative arts; yet today ...

in Munich and

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and List of cities in Germany by population, largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's List of cities in the European Union by population within ci ...

. His studies were interrupted by 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 ...

. He took part in WWI as an officer and began to take photographs at the front. Here he undertook his first reporting for ''Ruhe an der Westfront''. In 1918 at the end of WWI, he resumed his studies in Munich and continued in Berlin. In Berlin in 1927, Man started work as an illustrator and graphic designer for the BZ newspaper and for ''

Tempo In musical terminology, tempo ( Italian, 'time'; plural ''tempos'', or ''tempi'' from the Italian plural) is the speed or pace of a given piece. In classical music, tempo is typically indicated with an instruction at the start of a piece (ofte ...

''. From 1928, he was employed by the Deutscher Photodienst (Dephot), for which he worked from 1929 under the pseudonym "Man". His reportages appeared under this pseudonym in the '' Münchner Illustrierte Presse'', where he met Stefan Lorant. During 1929 to 1932, he created 110 photo reports, such as his

photo essay A photographic essay or photo-essay for short is a form of visual storytelling, a way to present a narrative through a series of images. A photo essay delivers a story using a series of photographs and brings the viewer along a narrative journey. E ...

''A day in the life of

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 ...

'' from 1931. Man toured North Africa, Canada, and the Canadian Arctic, from where he delivered his photo reports for the ''

Berliner Illustrirte Zeitung The ''Berliner Illustrirte Zeitung'', often abbreviated ''BIZ'', was a German weekly illustrated magazine published in Berlin from 1892 to 1945. It was the first mass-market German magazine and pioneered the format of the illustrated news magazine. ...

''. In 1933, he returned to Berlin and received no work permit because he refused to enter the Reichspressekammer and so he emigrated to England in May 1934. His 41 picture reports, produced between 1929 and 1935 in Canada, continued to be published in the ''Berliner Illustrirte Zeitung''. After his emigration in 1934, he met Stefan Lorant in London, where he was editor of the refounded '' Weekly Illustrated'' and within six months published 47 image reports. He then moved to the ''

Daily Mirror The ''Daily Mirror'' is a British national daily tabloid. Founded in 1903, it is owned by parent company Reach plc. From 1985 to 1987, and from 1997 to 2002, the title on its masthead was simply ''The Mirror''. It had an average daily print c ...

'', where he remained until 1938, to then work under the direction of Stefan Lorant as a chief photographer at ''

'', with 100–150 annual photo reports. He also worked for ''

Life Life is a quality that distinguishes matter that has biological processes, such as Cell signaling, signaling and self-sustaining processes, from that which does not, and is defined by the capacity for Cell growth, growth, reaction to Stimu ...

'' and ''

The Sunday Times ''The Sunday Times'' is a British newspaper whose circulation makes it the largest in Britain's quality press market category. It was founded in 1821 as ''The New Observer''. It is published by Times Newspapers Ltd, a subsidiary of News UK, w ...

''. In 1948, the ''Picture Post'' began printing colour pages and was also groundbreaking in the field of colour image reporting, and along with Tim N. Gidal, pioneered colour photography in photojournalism. After the

Second World War 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 opposi ...

, Man began to collect lithographs and in 1953 published ''150 years of artists' lithographs 1803–1953'' and one year later ''Eight European Artists''. During the years 1959–1971, he lived in Switzerland and then in Rome, Italy, where he worked for ''The World''. In 1977, he participated in the

documenta 6 documenta 6 was the sixth edition of documenta, a quinquennial contemporary art exhibition. It was held between 24 June and 2 October 1977 in Kassel Kassel (; in Germany, spelled Cassel until 1926) is a city on the Fulda River in northern Hess ...

quinquennial

contemporary art Contemporary art is the art of today, produced in the second half of the 20th century or in the 21st century. Contemporary artists work in a globally influenced, culturally diverse, and technologically advancing world. Their art is a dynamic co ...

exhibition, held in Kassel, Germany. His photo reports moved away from juxtaposed single images and so he is considered an innovator of European photojournalism. His work on the history of

lithography Lithography () is a planographic method of printing originally based on the immiscibility of oil and water. The printing is from a stone (lithographic limestone) or a metal plate with a smooth surface. It was invented in 1796 by the German a ...

is also significant. During his career, Man took portrait photographs of leading political and cultural figures such is Clement Attlee,

William Beveridge William Henry Beveridge, 1st Baron Beveridge, (5 March 1879 – 16 March 1963) was a British economist and Liberal politician who was a progressive and social reformer who played a central role in designing the British welfare state. His 19 ...

Ernest Bevin Ernest Bevin (9 March 1881 – 14 April 1951) was a British statesman, trade union leader, and Labour Party politician. He co-founded and served as General Secretary of the powerful Transport and General Workers' Union in the years 1922–194 ...

, Sir Stafford Cripps, T. S. Eliot,

Oskar Kokoschka Oskar Kokoschka (1 March 1886 – 22 February 1980) was an Austrian artist, poet, playwright, and teacher best known for his intense expressionistic portraits and landscapes, as well as his theories on vision that influenced the Viennese Expres ...

David Lloyd George David Lloyd George, 1st Earl Lloyd-George of Dwyfor, (17 January 1863 – 26 March 1945) was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1916 to 1922. He was a Liberal Party politician from Wales, known for leading the United Kingdom during ...

John Masefield John Edward Masefield (; 1 June 1878 – 12 May 1967) was an English poet and writer, and Poet Laureate of the United Kingdom, Poet Laureate from 1930 until 1967. Among his best known works are the children's novels ''The Midnight Folk'' and ...

, Henry Moore, Paul Nash, George Orwell, Dame Sybil Thorndike, and

Evelyn Waugh Arthur Evelyn St. John Waugh (; 28 October 1903 – 10 April 1966) was an English writer of novels, biographies, and travel books; he was also a prolific journalist and book reviewer. His most famous works include the early satires '' Decl ...

, some of which are in the National Portrait Gallery, London. The gallery also holds a photograph of Man himself by Roger George Clark, daing from 1983. ''The lights go up in London'', a 1945 photograph by Man, is held in the

Tate Tate is an institution that houses, in a network of four art galleries, the United Kingdom's national collection of British art, and international modern and contemporary art. It is not a government institution, but its main sponsor is the U ...

collection. He died in 1985 in London.

Publications

* ''150 years of artists' lithographs 1803–1953''. London: Heinemann, 1953. * ''Eight European Artists''. London: Heinemann, 1954. * ''Artists' lithographs: a world history from Senefelder to the present day''. London:

Studio Vista Studio Vista was a British publishing company founded in 1961 that specialised in leisure and design topics. In the 1960s, the firm published works by a number of authors that went on to be noted designers. History Studio Vista was founded by Cec ...

, 1970. * ''Felix H. Man – Photographien aus 70 Jahren''. Munich: Schirmer/Mosel, 1983.

Honours

* Culture Award of the

German Society for Photography German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...

(1965) * Großes Bundesverdienstkreuz – Great Federal Cross of Merit (1982) The Felix H. Man Memorial Prize is open to photographers under the age of 30.

References

Sources

* * *

External links

Literature by and about Felix H. Man
in the catalogue of the

German National Library The German National Library (DNB; german: Deutsche Nationalbibliothek) is the central archival library and national bibliographic centre for the Federal Republic of Germany. It is one of the largest libraries in the world. Its task is to colle ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Man, Felix H. 1893 births 1985 deaths Artists from Freiburg im Breisgau German Army personnel of World War I German military officers Photographers from Baden-Württemberg German photojournalists German illustrators German graphic designers War photographers Emigrants from Nazi Germany to the United Kingdom British photojournalists Life (magazine) photojournalists The Sunday Times photojournalists British portrait photographers Fine art photographers 20th-century art collectors German art collectors Commanders Crosses of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany Picture Post photojournalists