14 May 2010

Dorothy Bohm

I wandered into Manchester City Art Gallery recently (just to get out of the rain) and was bowled over by an exhibition of photography by Dorothy Bohm - someone I had never heard of before. She was born in Konigsberg in East Prussia in 1924 and her family emigrated to Manchester in 1939 to escape the Nazis. A World Observed 1940 – 2010 is the first comprehensive retrospective of her work. It runs from 24 April to 30 August 2010, and traces her exceptional career across six decades and several continents. From the 1940s vintage portraits featured on this site, through jewel-like Polaroids from the 1980s to colourful images of contemporary life, the exhibition features over 200 original photographic prints.

You can explore a recreation of her 1940s Manchester portrait studio and (re)discover the fading art of film processing in a replica dark room. You can also see how her photographic style and interests have evolved over the years. Visit the gallery’s website to see some examples of her more recent photographs. There’s also a comprehensive catalogue being published to accompany the exhibition.

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