“I do not photograph the differences but the similarities.” – Dorothy Bohm
Dorothy Bohm at 100 celebrates the remarkable life and work of Dorothy Bohm [1924– 2023] and coincides with what would have been her 100th birthday.
Having originally trained as a studio portraitist in wartime Manchester, she would go on to travel extensively, establishing herself as a leading humanist street photographer. Bohm’s passion for the medium extended far beyond her own practice, supporting photographers, writers, gallerists, and collectors within Britain and abroad. Notably, she played a key role in helping Sue Davies set up The Photographers’ Gallery in 1971 where she worked as Associate Director for fifteen years.
Born into a Jewish family in East Prussia, Dorothy Bohm’s life was profoundly shaped by the rise of Nazism. Sent to the safety of England in 1939, she endured more than two decades of separation from her parents and sister. The impact of war and dislocation deeply influenced her photographic approach, which displays a fascination with people from all walks of life, particularly women and children. Far from being intimidated by the then male-dominated field of photography, Bohm noted, “subjects are less threatened by a woman, so it is easier for me to approach them without seeming intimidating. I can win their trust, move in closer.”
Inspired by a visit to André Kertész in 1980, Bohm began exploring colour photography, infusing her images with texture and spatial ambiguity to convey humanity in increasingly abstract and allusive forms. Featuring a selection of her most beloved images alongside recently unearthed gems, this exhibition offers a journey through cities immortalised by Bohm’s lens, showcasing the breadth of her practice and her empathy for the human condition.
Dorothy Bohm at 100
Until 23 June 2024
The Photographers’ Gallery
16–18 Ramillies Street
London W1F 7LW
+44(0)20 7087 9300
www.tpg.org.uk
