Helmar Lerski
1871–1956

HELMAR LERSKI
Metamorphose 517, aus der Serie 'Verwandlungen durch Licht' / Metamorphosis 517, from the series 'Metamorphosis through Light', Tel Aviv, 1935-36
© Estate Helmar Lerski, Fotografische Sammlung, Museum Folkwang, Essen / Courtesy Kicken Berlin
Biography
Helmar Lerski (born Israel Schmuklerski) grew up in Switzerland and emigrated to the US in 1893. There he worked in the theater and began photographing his fellow actors in 1911. He moved to Berlin in 1915 and began a career as a lighting cameraman in the silent film industry before returning to photography in 1928. His portraits, which use stage-like lighting, were exhibited in 1929 at the Film und Foto exhibition in Stuttgart and published in 1930 as the book Köpfe des Alltags. He emigrated in 1932 to Palestine, where he worked on the portrait series Araber und Juden. In 1936 he completed the Verwandlungen durch Licht (Metamorphoses through Light) project for which he took 175 portraits of the same worker under various lighting conditions. Lerski returned to Zurich in 1948. After his death, his friends Reni Mertens-Bertozzi and Walter Marti served as executors of his estate, which they donated to the Museum Folkwang in Essen in 1993.
Exhibitions
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50 YEARS | 50 PHOTOGRAPHSselected by Wilhelm SchürmannApr 26, 2024 — Mar 28, 2025
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HIGHLIGHTSSep 12, 2018 — Feb 28, 2019
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MIXED MEDIA (I)About PortraitMar 10 — Apr 24, 2015
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1974… 40 Years. 40 PhotographsSep 20, 2014 — Feb 26, 2015
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Helmar LerskiVerwandlungen durch Licht 1936Apr 28 — Jun 03, 1990
Press
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Neue Rhein Zeitung: Neue Blicke auf alte Foto-Schätze
Feb 20, 2020
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Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung: Mahlstrom der Bilder
Nov 11, 2017
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Le Figaro: Paris Photo, l'aboratoire d'images
Nov 10, 2017
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Berliner Morgenpost: Perfekt im Duett
Feb 24, 2007
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Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung: Wie hingetupft
Feb 03, 2007
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Zitty: Jubiläumsausstellung
Feb 01, 2007
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Art + Auction: 30 Years & Points of View
Jan 01, 2007
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Art Observer: Kicken: 30 Jahre Photokunst
Dec 22, 2006