Inge Morath facts for kids

Mrs. Eveleigh Nash, London, 1953

Ingeborg Morath (born May 27, 1923 – died January 30, 2002) was an Austrian photographer. She joined the famous Magnum Photos agency in 1953. By 1955, she was a full photographer there. She published her first photo book that same year. She created over 30 books of her photos during her life.

Life Story of Inge Morath

Early Years (1923-1945)

Ingeborg Morath was born in Graz, Austria. Her parents were scientists. This meant her family moved around Europe a lot during her childhood. She went to French schools at first. In the 1930s, her family moved to German cities like Darmstadt and then Berlin.

Morath first saw avant-garde (new and experimental) art at a special show in 1937. This show was put on by the Nazi party. They called it "Degenerate Art" to make people dislike modern art. Morath later wrote, "I found a number of these paintings exciting and fell in love with Franz Marc's Blue Horse."

Morath studied languages at Berlin University. She learned French, English, and Romanian. Later, she also learned Spanish, Russian, and Chinese. Near the end of World War II, Morath worked in a factory in Tempelhof. She worked alongside Ukrainian prisoners of war. When Russian bombers attacked the factory, she ran all the way to Austria. In her later years, Morath chose not to photograph war.

Becoming a Photographer (1945-1962)

After World War II, Morath worked as a translator and journalist. In 1948, she started working for a magazine called Heute. She met photographer Ernst Haas in Vienna. Morath showed his work to her boss. They worked together for Heute, with Morath writing articles for Haas's pictures. In 1949, Robert Capa invited Morath and Haas to join the new Magnum Photos agency in Paris.

Morath was briefly married to British journalist Lionel Birch. She moved to London in 1951. That same year, she started taking photos during a trip to Venice. Morath asked for an apprenticeship with Simon Guttman. He was an editor for Picture Post.

Morath divorced Birch and went back to Paris. Her first photography jobs were often stories that other photographers weren't interested in. For one early job, she went to London to photograph people in Soho and Mayfair. Her picture of Mrs. Eveleigh Nash from that job is one of her most famous works. In the late 1950s, Morath traveled a lot. She worked on stories in Europe, the Middle East, Africa, the United States, and South America. Her photos appeared in magazines like Holiday, Paris Match, and Vogue. In 1955, she published Guerre à la Tristesse, a book of her photos from Spain. This was followed by De la Perse à l'Iran, photos of Iran, in 1958.

Like many Magnum photographers, Morath also worked on movie sets. She met director John Huston while living in London. Huston's film Moulin Rouge (1952) was one of Morath's first jobs. It was her first time working in a film studio.

Marriage and Family Life

Morath married the playwright Arthur Miller on February 17, 1962. They moved to the United States. Miller and Morath's first child, Rebecca, was born in September 1962. Their second child, Daniel, was born in 1966 with Down syndrome. Today, Rebecca Miller is a film director, actress, and writer.

Later Years and Death

Ingeborg Morath Miller passed away from cancer in New York City in 2002. She was 78 years old.

Awards and Lasting Impact

• 2003: Her family created the Inge Morath Foundation.
• 2002: Members of Magnum Photos started the Inge Morath Award. This yearly award honors Inge Morath. It is given to a woman photographer under 30 to help her finish a long-term project. The Inge Morath Foundation manages the award.
• 1992: She received the Great Austrian State Prize for Photography.
• 1984: She was given an honorary doctorate in Fine Arts from the University of Connecticut, USA.

Notable Exhibitions

Inge Morath's photographs have been shown in many places around the world. Here are a few examples:

• 2008: Well Disposed and Trying to See: Inge Morath and Arthur Miller in China, University of Michigan Art Museum, USA.
• 2004: Inge Morath: The Road to Reno, Chicago Cultural Center, USA.
• 2003: Exposition, Henri Cartier-Bresson Foundation, Paris, France.
• 2002: Inge Morath: Danube, City Gallery of Russe, Bulgaria.
• 1999: Retrospective, Kunsthalle Wien, Austria.
• 1997: Photographs 1950s to 1990s, Tokyo Museum of Photography, Japan.
• 1994: Spain in the fifties, Spanish Institute, New York, USA.
• 1988: Retrospective, Union of Photojournalists, Moscow, Russia.

Selected Photo Books

Inge Morath published many books featuring her photographs. Here are some of them:

• 1999: Arthur Miller: Photographed by Inge Morath.
• 1996: Woman to Woman.
• 1994: Inge Morath: Spain in the Fifties.
• 1992: Inge Morath: Photographs 1952 to 1992.
• 1979: Chinese Encounters, with Arthur Miller.
• 1969: In Russia.
• 1958: De la Perse à l'Iran (From Persia to Iran).
• 1956: Venice Observed.
• 1955: Guerre à la Tristesse (War Against Sadness).

Images for kids

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  Actor Dustin Hoffman with Lee J. Cobb, who played Willy Loman in Arthur Miller's Death of a Salesman, 1965

See also

In Spanish: Inge Morath para niños