by Daniel Stephens

Created on: December 16, 2010

Andreas Feininger became famous for his photographs of New York. He studied architecture in Germany and began practising before moving to Sweden. At the outset of war he emigrated to the United States where he began working for Life magazine as a photographer. It was during his time with Life that his most well known work appeared. The haunting beauty of his 1948 picture of the Brooklyn Bridge at night showing the New York skyline lit up in the background, and his earlier images of ships entering the harbour with the high-rise buildings, that towered above, distorted by plumes of hot steam emitted by the boat engines. Feininger took his well-schooled knowledge of architecture, the refined lines and attention to detail, and brought it seamlessly together with a love of the still image. His photography is therefore masterful in its technique and grandeur.

Through the trained eye of Feininger, the intricacies and beauty of both the man-made and natural worlds are magnified. Suddenly they have intensity not seen before.

A new book on Feininger eloquently says that Feininger lived for his echo not his ego. As such he left the world such beautiful images but gave little away about himself. At least, openly.

He was born in Paris, France in the winter of 1906 to an American family of German origin. His father had been born in New York City in the late 1800s while his great-grandfather had left Germany for America in 1848.

Feininger was originally interested in architecture and studied at Staatliches Bauhaus where his father taught art. After graduating he did practice architecture in Germany before a move to Sweden saw him begin his interest in photography. After his move to the United States in 1939 he worked primarily as a freelance photographer before getting a job with Life magazine in 1943. It was during this time that he perfected his craft of photojournalism with his work during this period known for its founding methods in professional photojournalism technique.

Although Feininger became famous for his photographs of New York he also photographed science and nature as seen in his many images of bones, shells, plants and minerals. After his association with Life ended in the 1960s he wrote comprehensive manuals about photography, of which The Complete Photographer has become one of the most widely quoted.

Feininger once said, “Two factors thus emerge as requisites of success in the field of creative photography. First, the subject must be photogenic. Second,

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