id: 155373
accession number: 1990.121
share license status: Copyrighted
url: https://clevelandart.org/art/1990.121
updated: 2024-03-26 02:00:08.865000
"Women's Dance," Bauhaus Stage, 1929. Umbo (German, 1902–1980). Gelatin silver print; image: 15.3 x 11 cm (6 x 4 5/16 in.); matted: 30.6 x 25.4 cm (12 1/16 x 10 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, John L. Severance Fund 1990.121
title: "Women's Dance," Bauhaus Stage
title in original language:
series:
series in original language:
creation date: 1929
creation date earliest: 1929
creation date latest: 1929
current location:
creditline: John L. Severance Fund
copyright:
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culture: Germany, 20th century
technique: gelatin silver print
department: Photography
collection: PH - German 20th Century
type: Photograph
find spot:
catalogue raisonne:
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CREATORS
* Umbo (German, 1902–1980) - artist
Umbo (Otto Umbehr) German, 1902-1980
Born Otto Umbehr in Düsseldorf, Umbo was a pioneering photojournalist also known for his compelling portraiture. Following studies in painting and design at the Bauhaus (1921-23), Umbo moved to Berlin where he undertook various jobs, including camera assistant to Walter Ruttmann on the documentary film Berlin, Die Sinfonie einer Grosstadt (Berlin, Symphony of a Great City, completed 1927). In 1926 he began a career as a professional photographer, opening a portrait studio with the assistance of Paul Citroën, a former Bauhaus colleague. He soon became known for his striking portraits produced using extreme closeups and dramatic lighting.
In 1928 Umbo joined Simon Guttmann's recently established Dephot (Deutsche Photodienst), the first cooperative photojournalist agency, managing the studio and contributing photographs until the agency was dissolved in 1933. During this time his work appeared in magazines such as the Berliner Illustrierte Zeitung, the Münchner Illustrierte Presse, Die Dame, and Die Koralle. He also experimented with multiple exposure, unusual camera angles, photomontage, collage, and x-ray film, and in 1929 took part in Film und Foto, the important international exhibition of avant-garde photography and film held in Stuttgart.
Throughout the 1930s and early 1940s, Umbo worked as a freelance photojournalist, traveling to North Africa and Italy on assignment. During World War II he served in the German army (1943-45), losing all his prints and negatives when his studio was destroyed. After the war Umbo moved to Hanover, where he continued freelance work. From 1957 until the early 1970s he also taught photography in Bad Pyrmont, Hildesheim, and Hanover. M.M.
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measurements: Image: 15.3 x 11 cm (6 x 4 5/16 in.); Matted: 30.6 x 25.4 cm (12 1/16 x 10 in.)
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inscriptions:
inscription: Written in pencil on verso: "lisbeth"; "Umbo II"; in blue-green ink: " N46 [46 boxed] / Oscar Schlammer / Barockdamen *) / Bauhausbühne 1926-30. / *) oder kurz '3 Damen' / Eigentum: W. Siedhoff / Frankfurt a. Main / Cornelius-str. 17"
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remark:
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CURRENT EXHIBITIONS
title: Legacy of Light: Master Photographs from the Cleveland Museum of Art
opening date: 1996-11-24T05:00:00
Legacy of Light: Master Photographs from the Cleveland Museum of Art. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (November 24, 1996-February 2, 1997).
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LEGACY EXHIBITIONS
* {'description': 'CMA, November 20,1996 - February 2, 1997: "Legacy of Light: Master Photographs from the Cleveland Museum of Art."', 'opening_date': '1997-02-02T00:00:00'}
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PROVENANCE
W. Siedhoff, Frankfurt am Main
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RELATED WORKS
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CITATIONS
"1990 Photography Acquisitions." The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art 78, no. 2 (1991): 46-59.
page number: Reproduced and Mentioned: p. 49
url: https://www.jstor.org/stable/25161315
Cleveland Museum of Art, Tom E Hinson. Catalogue of Photography. Cleveland, OH: Cleveland Museum of Art, 1996.
page number: Reproduced: P. 362
url:
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IMAGES