Frank Hofmann: From Prague to Auckland

Frank Hofmann arrived in New Zealand in 1940 as a refugee from Nazism. He quickly established himself as a professional photographer, first in Christchurch, then in Auckland from 1941. In Auckland he initially worked for Clifton Firth, the most prominent photographer, and from 1948-75 for Christopher Bede Studios, the country’s largest commercial portrait business. This was Hofmann’s day job. He also pursued art photography intensely, exploring the aesthetic and poetic potentialities of the medium in various genres: portraiture, experimental and abstract, architectural, and landscape. Besides being an outstanding photographer, Hofmann is particularly important historically for introducing inter-war European modernist ideas and practices into New Zealand.

Exhibition curated by Leonard Bell, Art History