JOSEF VORISEK. Portrait of Josef Sudek on Bridge, 1950s. 7.7x6.3" gelatin silver print on 8.5x6.3" paper. Printed 1950s. Stamped with photographer's stamp in red ink on print verso; inscribed in pencil: 2469.

A modernist upward angular view showing Josef Sudek about to photograph down from a diagonal walkway.

Josef Vorisek was born December 12, 1902, in Prague and died January 1, 1980 in Sluknov, Czech Republic. Vorisek was an aviation engineer at the Prague Aero factory, and later an automobile designer. He is the author of the Aero 30 and Aero 50 bodyworks.

Vorisek was also a talented amateur photographer and contributed to many Czech publications, including Eva and Ozveny (Echoes). He and Josef Sudek shared a lifetime friendship and interest in artistic photography. He took many portraits of that master photographer. Vorisek was active in photography from the 1920s-1960s, although much of his work was photojournalistic in style.

Born in the town of Kolin, Josef Sudek began his working life as an apprentice bookbinder. He lost his right arm while serving in the army and then turned to photography instead. He was a member of the Prague Club for Amateur Photographers from 1920-24 and studied photography at the State School of Graphic Arts in Prague from 1922 to 1924. His early work was influenced by that of Clarence White, who espoused a Pictorialist approach to light and form. During the 1920s, Sudek created a series of photographs of disabled Czech soldiers; in 1927 he was one of the founding members of the renegade Czech Photographic Society, dedicated to documentary photography. His series of photographs of the renovation of the St. Vitus Cathedral in which he juxtaposed architectural details of the cathedral with the abstract forms of workers' tools won him the title of official photographer for the city of Prague in 1928. After his first solo exhibition, in 1933, Sudek's work was shown alongside that of Laszlo Moholy-Nagy, Man Ray, and Alexander Rodchenko at the city's International Photography Exhibition in 1936. Another twenty-five years passed before he received international acclaim for his tender scenes of Prague street life, still lifes, and views from his window. Solo exhibitions of his work have been held at the George Eastman House, ICP, and the Musee National d'Art Moderne in Paris.

Credit: https://www.icp.org/browse/archive/constituents/josef-sudek

Very Good/Good. Minor to moderate surface wear: small abrasions, handling marks.