NEW YORK.- The Neue Galerie opens “Portraits of an Age: Photography in Germany and Austria, 1900-1938,” the first exhibition at the Neue Galerie devoted exclusively to photography. The show traces the history of the medium in these countries over four decades through the photographic convention of portraiture. Works range from the softer, pictorialist style of early twentieth-century Austrian photographs to the harder-edged German images created at the Bauhaus. It will remain on view through June 6.

”These photographs offer a meditation on time in the form of a dialogue between photographer and subject,” said Renée Price, Director of the Neue Galerie. “They draw us in with their wit, their poignancy, and their humanity.”
The exhibition presents vintage prints by more than thirty-five photographers, covering a diverse range of styles and formats. It is divided into eight sections: "Fin de Siècle,” “Individual Expression,” “The Portrait: End of a Tradition,” “Das Volksgesicht: The Face of a People,” “The Fashion of Disguise,” “Snapshots,” “Close-Ups,” and “Self-Portraits.” The exhibition begins with refined studio portraits by photographers such as Dora Kallmus (of Atelier D’Ora) and Hugo Erfurth, and encompasses the sculptural approach of Helmar Lerski, the free-spirited élan conveyed by Marianne Breslauer, the eerie close-ups captured by Umbo, and the grand typological project of August Sander. Overall, it brings together more than 100 works from public and private collections.

“Portraits of an Age” is organized by Monika Faber, curator of photography at the Albertina, Vienna. The exhibition catalogue is available in English and German editions by Hatje Cantz, and is edited by Ms. Faber and Janos Frecot, the former head of the photography collection at the Berlinische Galerie.

Over the course of the exhibition, the Neue Galerie will host a film series entitled “Famous/Anonymous,” featuring films that range from a portrait of the legendary film actress Marlene Deitrich to a snapshot of daily life in Berlin in 1930. On Saturday, March 12 and 19, at 2 p.m., Marlene (1984), a documentary directed by Maximillian Schell, will be shown. On Saturday, March 26 and April 2, at 2 p.m., Jenseits der Grenze—Eine Erinnerung an Walter Benjamin (Beyond the Border—A Memory of Walter Benjamin, 2000), which imaginatively reconstructs the last day in the philosopher and critic’s life, will be screened. On Saturday, April 9 and 16, at 2 p.m., Kuhle Wampe (To Whom Does the World Belong, 1932), the story of a dispossessed family written by Bertolt Brecht, will be presented. On Saturday, April 23 and 30, at 2 p.m., Menschen am Sonntag (People on Sunday, 1930), a tale of five young Berliners on a typical day, will be shown. Films are shown free with regular museum admission. “Famous/Anonymous” is organized by Kathrin DiPaola.