In the 1920s and 30s Emil Otto Hoppé (British, German born, 1878–1972) was one of the most sought-after photographers in the world. He spent the first decade of his career pioneering the art of celebrity portraiture. Breaking with the formal stiffness of the Victorian studio, Hoppé’s early twentieth century portraitsdepicted writers such as George Bernard Shaw, H.G. Wells, T.S. Eliot, and Ezra Pound, legendary dancers such as Vaslav Nijinsky and Margot Fonteyn, and royals of the Edwardian era in a shocking new way: they looked natural.

Hoppé’s studio in South Kensington was a magnet for the rich and famous, and for years he actively led the global art scene on both sides of the Atlantic while also photographing around the globe, making over thirty photographically-illustrated books, establishing himself as a pioneering figure in photographic art and photojournalism.

In the 1930s Hoppé left the studio to make photographs of British street life. These pictures, sometimes funny and often poignant, explored ideas about class and typology that paralleled the writings of his friend, the playwright George Bernard Shaw. Using a hidden camera, Hoppé photographed people at the other end of the social spectrum: sleeping rough, living in hostels, and barely getting by. He also immersed himself in London’s growing immigrant communities. As waves of immigration from Europe, Asia, and Africa turned Britain into a multicultural nation, Hoppé was making its collective portrait. His photographs show a nation with one foot planted firmly in the past, and another reaching toward the future.

The exhibition brings both sides of Hoppé’s work together for the first time, and marks the rediscovery of Hoppé as a pivotal figure in Edwardian art and photo-modernism.

Curatorial exhibitions represent an efficient, cost-sharing model to help your organization thrive, even during these challenging times.

Our exhibitions are:

WORKS
142 photographs, 10 cased objects (vintage magazine articles, books, cartoons)

DIMENSIONS

14 x 11 inches (35 x 28 cm) to 20 x 16 inches (50 x 40 cm)

SPACE REQUIREMENTS

400 linear feet (120 linear meters)

INQUIRIES

exhibitions@curatorial.org
626.577.0044

FEE

$12,000 for an eight-week period

SCHEDULE
Monash Gallery of Art, Melbourne
(June 9, 2012 – July 29, 2012)

Fundación MAPFRE, Madrid
(March 5, 2012 – May 20, 2012)

National Portrait Gallery, London
(February 17, 2011 – May 30, 2011)

CURATOR BIOGRAPHY
Phillip Prodger is a museum professional, curator, author, and art historian. He is the Senior Research Scholar at the Yale Center for British Art and formerly served as Head of Photographs at the National Portrait Gallery, London.