Hofatelier Elvira

The Hofatelier Elvira (tr. Court atelier Elvira, also known as Atelier Elvira or Salon Elvira) was a photography studio in Munich founded by Anita Augspurg and Sophia Goudstikker in 1887. It is notable as the first German company founded by women, and was made famous by their work in the feminist movement.

History

The building that housed the atelier at Von-der-Thann-Straße 15 was built in 1898, and the façade was designed by the architect August Endell in the years from 1896 to 1898. Endell's work was influenced by Victor Horta. His plans, were licensed in April 1898 with the remark, that they were a "mockery of drawing art".[1] The façade, with its red and golden dragon-like stucco ornament on a green ground,[2] was especially criticized. The design was called "Octopus Rococo", and the building was variously called the "dragon's castle" or the "Chinese embassy".[3] The Atelier Elvira building was an artist's meeting point from the beginning. Soon after the building was completed, the founders' paths went separate ways. In 1907 Augspurg sold her share to Goudstikker, who leased it to the young photographer Emma Uibleisen. After World War I most of the traditional clients disappeared. When Uibleisen died in 1928 there was no successor.

In the autumn of 1933 an SA unit moved into the building. When the Von-der-Thann-Straße was rebuilt into a main accessway for the Haus der Kunst art museum, the building was used as a canteen for the construction workers. In 1937 the "dragon ornament" was removed and the building slated for demolition to make way for a planned arcade building which could not be realized during World War II. In April 1944 the area was bombed. After the war the area was acquired by the state of Bavaria, which gave it to the United States for the construction of the Consulate General.[1]

Works (selection)

Significant photographs that emerged from the atelier include:

Bibliography

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Edgard Haider: Verlorene Pracht –- Geschichten von zerstörten Bauten. (German), Hildesheim, Gerstenberg Verlag 2006, ISBN 978-3-8067-2949-8
  2. ↑ Otto Kammerlohr: Epochen der Kunst (German), vol. IV, 1977, p. 45.
  3. ↑ Picture of the atelier building with the "dragon motif"
  4. ↑ Der Weg zur Gleichberechtigung - Anfänge der Frauenbewegung (German).

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Atelier Elvira.