Adolf Fassbender

Adolf Fassbender (1884-1980) was a German-American photographer known for his landscape, architectural, and urban photography. Born in Cologne, Germany, Fassbender immigrated to the United States in 1910 and settled in New York City. He quickly established himself as a commercial photographer, working for various clients including the New York Times and Vogue magazine. Fassbender was also a prominent educator, founding the Fassbender School of Photography in 1927, which operated until 1951. 

Fassbender's photographic style was characterized by his use of pictorialism, a technique that emphasizes the artistic aspects of photography. He often manipulated his images in the darkroom to achieve a painterly effect, using techniques such as soft focus, toning, and hand coloring. His work was widely exhibited during his lifetime, including solo exhibitions at the Brooklyn Museum and the Art Institute of Chicago. 

Fassbender's most notable project was his series of photographs titled Pictorial Artistry, which was published as a portfolio in 1937. The series featured a collection of his most acclaimed images, including landscapes of the American West and architectural studies of New York City. Fassbender's work is held in the collections of several major institutions, including the Museum of Modern Art in New York and the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art. Despite his contributions to the field of photography, Fassbender's work was largely forgotten after his death until a resurgence of interest in the 1980s. Today, he is recognized as a significant figure in the history of American photography.