Giants: Arnold Crane’s Photographer Portraits

Ansel Adams, Brassaï, André Kertész, Man Ray and Berenice Abbott – he met them all! The greats, the famous artists, the iconic role models of 20th century photography. The American photographer Arnold Crane (1932–2014) repeatedly succeeded in portraying them through direct, intimate, subtle and captivating portraits. In this way, Crane himself became an esteemed and celebrated photographer. He pursued his portrait series over several decades, enjoying personal access to the “giants of photography”, as he once described the colleagues he portrayed. Over a span of three decades, Crane made repeated visits to their homes and studios, capturing the atmosphere and everyday life of the people he portrayed – always in black and white and never using a flash. During his encounters, trust developed through long conversations, to the point where Crane’s camera – typically a Leica M – went entirely unnoticed. Crane not only created portraits but also captured the full magic of the photographic moment in his images. The result is a veritable who’s who of 20th-century photography. The exhibition at the Leica Gallery in Wetzlar allows us to reacquaint ourselves with over 20 photographers, only one of whom – Lee Friedlander – is still alive today, yet whose images and reportages have immortalised all those portrayed.