Frank Eugene facts for kids
Frank Eugene (born Frank Eugene Smith on September 19, 1865) was an American photographer. He was a very important person in early photography. He helped start a famous group called the Photo-Secession. He was also one of the first teachers of photography at a university! He passed away on December 16, 1936.
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Frank Eugene's Early Life
Frank Eugene was born in New York City. His original name was Frank Eugene Smith. His dad, Frederick Smith, was a baker from Germany. His mom, Hermine Selinger Smith, was a singer.
Around 1880, when he was about 15, Frank started taking photos just for fun. He might have been studying at the City College of New York at that time. In 1886, he moved to Munich, Germany. There, he studied drawing and stage design at the Bavarian Academy of Fine Arts.
Frank Eugene's Photography Career
After finishing his studies, Frank Eugene became a portrait artist. He drew pictures of actors and actresses. He also kept taking photographs. We don't know much about who taught him photography.
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In 1899, he came back to the United States. He showed his photographs at the Camera Club of New York. A writer named Sadakichi Hartmann praised his work. He said Frank Eugene was the first true artist to show his skills in American photography.
A year later, he joined a group called The Linked Ring. This was a famous photography club in London. Fourteen of his photos were shown in a big exhibition there. Frank Eugene had a very special style. It was influenced by his painting skills. He would scratch and brush his photo negatives. This made his prints look like a mix of painting and photography. People called his work "unphotographic photography."
In 1900, a whole issue of Camera Notes magazine was about his art. This was a big honor for him. In 1902, Frank Eugene helped start the Photo-Secession group. He became a member of its main council. This group wanted photography to be seen as a fine art.
Moving to Germany
In 1906, Frank Eugene moved to Germany for good. He was known there as both a painter and a photographer. He worked with famous painters like Fritz von Uhde. He also took many photos of these artists. He even designed special tapestries to use as backgrounds in his pictures.
A year later, he started teaching. He became a lecturer on "pictorial photography" in Munich. This was at a special photography school. From this point on, photography became his main focus. He experimented with new color photos called Autochromes. Three of his color prints were shown in New York.
In 1910, twenty-seven of his photos were shown in a big exhibition in Buffalo, New York. The exhibition catalog said he was the first to make successful platinum prints on special Japanese paper.
Frank Eugene was known for changing his photos. He was a master at manipulating images. One historian said he was very bold. He would scratch and paint on his negatives. This made even other famous photographers admire his unique touch. He created a new way of making photos. No one before him had worked on negatives with such artistic goals.
In 1913, he became a Royal Professor in Leipzig, Germany. This was a special job created just for him. It was the first professorship for "pictorial photography" in the world. Two years later, Frank Eugene became a German citizen. He taught for many years. He led the photography department until 1927.
Frank Eugene passed away in Munich in 1936.
Images for kids
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Willi Geiger, a painter photographed by Frank Eugene in 1910.
