Frank Simon Hofmann
František Simon Hofmann | |
|---|---|
| Born | 27 December 1916 |
| Died | April 14, 1989 (aged 72) Auckland, New Zealand |
| Occupation | Photographer |
František Simon Hofmann (27 December 1916 in Prague, Austria-Hungary[1] – 13 April 1989 in Auckland, New Zealand), widely known as Frank Simon Hofmann was a Czech photographer who was recognised for his art in both Europe and New Zealand.
Biography[edit]
Hofmann was born in Prague, the son of a prosperous Jewish businessman. He was givern his first camera by his mother at 13 to use on a trip to Venice, and at 16 joined the Prague Photographic Society.[1]
In 1940, Hofmann fled to England to escape persecution during the Nazi German occupation of Prague.[1] He arrived in New Zealand in 1940,[2] first joining cousins in Christchurch, where he began working as a freelance photographer.[1] He moved around the country searching for more permanent employment; first to Wellington, followed by Napier and eventually to Auckland.[1]
In Auckland, Hofmann became deeply involved in Auckland's cultural scene: friends with artist Dennis Knight Turner, writer Frank Sargeson, violinist Maurice Clare, and architect Vernon Brown.[citation needed] Hofmann began working with Clifton Firth,[2][3] and became a foundation member of the Auckland String Players (later who developed into the Symphonia of Auckland), where he played violin and later served as the management chairman).[1]
In 1947, Hofmann joined Colonial Portraits as their manager of photographic production. There he met Bill Doherty, with whom he established Christopher Bede Studios, a commercial photography studio, in the early 1950s.[2][1]
Hofmann's first solo show didn't come until 1959, an exhibition at the Photographic Society of New Zealand's Tauranga convention. There was a revival of interest in Hofmann and his work in the late 1980s as a retro icon of New Zealand modernist taste. A 1987 retrospective was mounted at Auckland's Aberhart North Gallery. In 1989 his work featured in a nationally touring show mounted by what was then the National Art Gallery, Object & Style: Photographs from Four Decades 1930s–1960s, and again in 1992 in the Auckland Art Gallery's The 1950s Show.[4]
Hofmann died in Auckland on 13 April 1989.[1]
Personal life[edit]
Hofmann married editor and poet Helen Lilian Shaw in Auckland on 24 December 1941. Together they had two sons.[1]
Photography[edit]
During his time at the Prague Photographic Society, he acquired a knack of both Romantic Pictorialism and modernist New Objectivity.[citation needed] Hofmann is widely seen as one of the leading figures of New Photography, which influenced the contemporary photography movement in New Zealand.[2] His photographs were typically of urban landscapes.[2]
References[edit]
- ^ a b c d e f g h i Ireland, Peter (2000). "Frank Simon Hofmann". Dictionary of New Zealand Biography. Ministry for Culture and Heritage. Retrieved 23 April 2017.
- ^ a b c d e Clifford, Andrew (2022). "Painting with Light". In Hammond, Catherine; Higgins, Shaun (eds.). Nature Boy: The Photography of Olaf Petersen. Auckland University Press. pp. 97–102. ISBN 978-1-86940-950-0.
- ^ McCredie, Athol (2015). New Zealand photography collected. Wellington, New Zealand: Te Papa Press. p. 239. ISBN 978-0-9941041-4-4. OCLC 906122347.
- ^ Wood, Andrew Paul (24 March 2016). "Frank Hofmann". bowerbankninow.com. Archived from the original on 2 October 2018. Retrieved 17 June 2016.
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