Dorothy Bohm at 100 – A Life in Photography
Exhibition:
26 September –30 November 2024
Exploring the work of one of the most prolific, versatile and admired female photographers of the 20th century, this exhibition coincides with the recent publication of Beam Editions’ book Dorothy Bohm at 100 – a Life in Photography. Taking a fresh look at the photographer’s 75-year-long career, the book shows a selection of her most iconic images alongside many previously unpublished works.
Born in 1924 into a Jewish family in East Prussia, Dorothy Bohm was sent to the safety of England in 1939. Her experience of war and dislocation deeply influenced her photographic approach, one that displays a fascination with people from all walks of life, particularly women and children.
After training in studio portraiture in 1940s Manchester, Bohm travelled extensively in the post-war period, establishing herself as a leading humanist street photographer. The exhibition includes images from London where the photographer lived for many years and Cape Town, South Africa, Tel Aviv, Israel, New York, the Netherlands, Lisbon and France that provide a small insight into the Bohm’s extensive travels and the many aspects of humanity the photographer documented.
‘Towards the end of her life, Dorothy’s work was positioned among a wave of female artists finally being given the attention they deserved. This was one aspect of an urgently needed overhaul of photographic culture and practice that continues…Dorothy’s imagery and approach belonged to another era; yet her love of photography, sense of humanity, yearning to arrest time and sensitivity of feeling through the eye remain relevant into the present.’
Martin Barnes, Senior Curator of Photography, V&A
