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Unpublished photograph of the Guggenheim Museum, taken for Vogue by Evelyn Hofer
Historically, in many ways, Condé Nast’s creative departments were run like a classic Hollywood studio. The Archive is filled with marquee names that were closely identified with Condé Nast throughout their respective careers – Steichen, Horst, Beaton, Penn, and Leibovitz immediately come to mind. But the Archive is also home to hundreds of supporting characters – photographers and artists who passed through Condé Nast for a variety of reasons, but still left an indelible mark on the company. While one will find some giants of 20th-century photography in in this group – Man Ray, Cartier-Bresson, Weegee – one is more likely to discover a brilliant and talented photographer who silently contributed 100 or fewer works over the course of many years, for whom employment by Condé Nast was a means to an end, and whose notoriety was not equaled by her talent.
The German photographer Evelyn Hofer, who died at her home in Mexico on November 2, belonged to the supporting cast. Her work appeared in at least five different Condé Nast titles – Vogue, Brides, House & Garden, Vanity Fair, and The New Yorker – over the course of 40 years. Originally hired to shoot fashions for Vogue in the late 1950s, Hofer quickly discovered that her true talent and interest lay in shooting “real” people and locations. Her work for Condé Nast centered on portraits of artists and those involved with the arts.
Hofer’s personal work includes a series of collaborative books focused on individual locales. Her first effort, The Stones of Florence, with author Mary McCarthy, was published in 1959. Hofer worked with V. S. Pritchett on three texts: London Perceived (1962), New York Proclaimed (1965), and Dublin: A Portrait (1967). She also produced texts on Spain and a second on Italy.
Hofer’s final book was an eponymous retrospective published by German publisher Gerhard Steidl in 2005. The book presents Hofer in a style that reflects her work: straightforward, clear, and unassuming. Steidl himself worked closely with her on the book and called the process “one of the most important discoveries in my working life.”
Evelyn Hofer was beloved by the photographic community, for herself along with her photography. The images here make up a very small sample of her work, and do not include her strongest. It is worth taking the time to explore her personal and professional work in greater depth.
Portrait of Saul Steinberg, published in the May 24, 1999 New Yorker (Links to The New Yorker Digital Edition)
Parting Glance: Evelyn Hofer, 1922-2009 at Lens, The New York Times’ Photo Blog
Interior of the Guggenheim Museum, photographed by Evelyn Hofer in the June 1, 1960 Vogue
Back view of model in pink maillot, photographed by Evelyn Hofer in the January 1, 1960 Vogue
Model in violet two-piece swimsuit, photographed by Evelyn Hofer in the January 1, 1960 Vogue
Biographer James Thrall Soby, photographed by Evelyn Hofer in the February 15, 1961 Vogue
Vogue November 15, 1959 cover, photographed by Evelyn Hofer
