Artworks

JOSEF SUDEK (Czech, 1896-1976) 

Josef Sudek was a photographer best known for his striking black-and-white images of Prague, the Bohemian forest, and everyday objects. Several of his most renowned works were taken through the window of his studio in Prague. 

Sudek was born in Kolin, Czech Republic in 1896. He spent the majority of his early adult life working as a bookbinder before serving in the Austro-Hungarian war, where he lost his arm to amputation. Following the war, Sudek met photographer Jaromir Funke and took up photography. Sudek found nearly immediate success as a photographer and was deemed the “Poet of Prague” by his contemporaries. He once described his passion for the medium, saying “A seemingly dead object comes to life through light or by its surroundings.” Sudek passed away in 1976. His works can be found in the collections of The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York and the Victoria & Albert Museum in London, among others.