Helene Roth

When the National Socialists came to power, New York became a major city of arrival and a new base for German-speaking photographers. At this time, photography was undergoing a radical transformation as it sought to establish itself as an art form. The émigrés, in turn, brought with them a broad spectrum of professional training and photographic skills. The camera served as a medium for engaging with the metropolis, reflecting on the experience of migration, building networks and simply surviving economically. In order to comprehensively analyse the complex relationships between photography and exile in the context of the metropolis of New York, Helene Roth takes a closer look at the creative achievements and heterogeneous perspectives, but also the setbacks of émigré photographers. From a transnational perspective, she engages with the socio-cultural, political and artistic developments of the 1930s and 1940s. The German edition of ‘Urban Eyes’ (Wallstein Verlag, 2024) was awarded the Gold Medal in the category ‘Photography Theory Textbook’ by the jury of the German Photo Book Award 2025/2026. The dissertation on which this monograph is based received the Claus-Dieter Krohn Prize (2024).

German-speaking Émigré Photographers in New York in the 1930s and 1940s

Urban Eyes

Rachel Lee

Laura Karp Lugo

Burcu Dogramaci

Mareike Hetschold

Exile and migration played a critical role in the diffusion and development of modernism around the globe, yet have long remained largely understudied phenomena within art historiography. Focusing on the intersections of exile, artistic practice and urban space, this volume brings together contributions by international researchers committed to revising the historiography of modern art. It pays particular attention to metropolitan areas that were settled by migrant artists in the first half of the 20th century. These arrival cities developed into hubs of artistic activities and transcultural contact zones where ideas circulated, collaborations emerged, and concepts developed. Taking six major cities as a starting point – Bombay (now Mumbai), Buenos Aires, Istanbul, London, New York, and Shanghai –the authors explore how urban topographies and landscapes were modified by exiled artists re-establishing their practices in metropolises across the world. Questioning the established canon of Western modernism, Arrival Cities investigates how the migration of artists to different urban spaces impacted their work and the historiography of art. In doing so, it aims to encourage the discussion between international scholars from different research fields, such as exile studies, art history, social history, architectural history, architecture, and urban studies.

Helene Roth

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