Frank Hofmann (1916-89): Light and Shadow
A DigitalNZ Story by Sienna Latham
In 1940, František Simon Hofmann fled the strengthening grip of the Nazi regime on the Austro-Hungarian Empire. The burgeoning photographer and violinist soon left England for New Zealand, where he found love during a visit to Christchurch. Hofmann and Timaru-born writer Helen Shaw married and settled in Auckland in 1941. He worked as a commercial photographer with Clifton Firth (http://digitalnz.org/user_sets/5082284a8d2a4e297500002a) and in the 1950s founded Christopher Bede Studios with Bill Doherty. The Hofmanns formed a vital part of the city's lively arts community, and the musicians, visual artists, writers and architects they knew proved as influential to his photography as the Czech avant-garde and modernism he helped to popularize in New Zealand. After Helen passed away in 1985, Hofmann dedicated himself to the publication of her poetry until his own death four years later. He is survived by their two sons.
photography, modernism, pictorialism, avant-garde, architecture, life, objects, portraiture, perspective, beauty
Anemones
Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa
Jerusalem: Yeshiva
Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa
Wire mesh
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Tilli Aldrich
Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa
Shell composite
Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa
Clifton Firth
Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa
Condenser lenses
Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa
Studio arrangement
Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa
Kampa Steps, Prague
Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa
Tumblers
Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa
Diving tower, Prague
Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa
Formal composition
Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa
New York contrasts
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Guggenheim Museum II
Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa
Cafeteria, Queenstown
Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa
Helen Shaw
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Guggenheim Museum I
Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa
Rome: Piazza del Quirinale
Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa
Reversal design
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Portrait of a pianist (Lili Kraus)
Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa
Instrument
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Caducity
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Design for bookplate
Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa
Valmai Moffett
Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa
Projection image: scissors
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The Madeleine, Paris
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Projection image: light bulbs
Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa
Untitled (architectural composition)
Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa
Clothesline
Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa
Rear vision mirror, London
Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa