Today is International Woman’s Day, and to celebrate, we’ve picked out five of our favourite female architectural photographers who have reframed the way we see the built world.
Lucia Moholy
During her lifetime, Moholy’s work was often attributed to her husband László Moholy-Nagy or Walter Gropius (who used her images extensively without crediting her.) But the Prague-born photographer worked relentlessly and prolifically through the 1920s, her photographs epitomising the rational philosophy of the Bauhaus.
Her images helped bring the movement to international attention after World War II, and in the 1950s she travelled across the Middle East capturing architecture and heritage sites with UNESCO. By the 1970s, Moholy had reclaimed her photography and art in her own right.
Pictured: Bauhaus Building, Dessau. Photography: Lucia Moholy/Moholy Foundation
Lucia Moholy
During her lifetime, Moholy’s work was often attributed to her husband László Moholy-Nagy or Walter Gropius (who used her images extensively without crediting her.) But the Prague-born photographer worked relentlessly and prolifically through the 1920s, her photographs epitomising the rational philosophy of the Bauhaus.
Her images helped bring the movement to international attention after World War II, and in the 1950s she travelled across the Middle East capturing architecture and heritage sites with UNESCO. By the 1970s, Moholy had reclaimed her photography and art in her own right.
Photography: Lucia Moholy/Moholy Foundation
Lucia Moholy
During her lifetime, Moholy’s work was often attributed to her husband László Moholy-Nagy or Walter Gropius (who used her images extensively without crediting her.) But the Prague-born photographer worked relentlessly and prolifically through the 1920s, her photographs epitomising the rational philosophy of the Bauhaus.
Her images helped bring the movement to international attention after World War II, and in the 1950s she travelled across the Middle East capturing architecture and heritage sites with UNESCO. By the 1970s, Moholy had reclaimed her photography and art in her own right.
Pictured: Bauhaus Building, Dessau. Lucia Moholy/Moholy Foundation
Hilla Becher
The Potsdam-born conceptual artist and photographer inspired a generation of photographers with her systematic and meticulous documentation of Europe’s industrial architecture in the 1950s. Working with her husband and life-long collaborator, Bernd Becher, the duo’s portfolio of bunkers, water towers, factories and warehouses was groundbreaking.
Photography: Bernd and Hilla Becher via Monovisions
Hilla Becher
The Potsdam-born conceptual artist and photographer inspired a generation of photographers with her systematic and meticulous documentation of Europe’s industrial architecture in the 1950s. Working with her husband and life-long collaborator, Bernd Becher, the duo’s portfolio of bunkers, water towers, factories and warehouses was groundbreaking.
Photography: Bernd and Hilla Becher
Hilla Becher
The Potsdam-born conceptual artist and photographer inspired a generation of photographers with her systematic and meticulous documentation of Europe’s industrial architecture in the 1950s. Working with her husband and life-long collaborator, Bernd Becher, the duo’s portfolio of bunkers, water towers, factories and warehouses was groundbreaking.
Photography: Bernd and Hilla Becher via Monovisions
Berenice Abbott
Abbot is considered a pioneer of 20th-century photography, and while she initially gained success as a portrait photographer, it was her documentation of New York which would become her life-long passion. Using her sharp, documentary style, she captured the Big Apple’s shifting cityscape between the wars – and beyond.
Photography: Berenice Abbott
Berenice Abbott
Abbot is considered a pioneer of 20th-century photography, and while she initially gained success as a portrait photographer, it was her documentation of New York which would become her life-long passion. Using her sharp, documentary style, she captured the Big Apple’s shifting cityscape between the wars – and beyond.
Photography: Berenice Abbott
Berenice Abbott
Abbot is considered a pioneer of 20th-century photography, and while she initially gained success as a portrait photographer, it was her documentation of New York which would become her life-long passion. Using her sharp, documentary style, she captured the Big Apple’s shifting cityscape between the wars – and beyond.
Photography: Berenice Abbott via Les Douches la Galerie
Candida Höfer
Germany artist Candida Höfer studied under Bernd and Hilla Becher and is known for her technical precision, which elevates her architectural photography to the level of art. She specialises in large-format photography, capturing empty social spaces and interiors as an interrogation of the ‘psychology of social architecture.’
Pictured: Hospicio Cabañas Capilla Tolsá. Candida Höfer (c)
Candida Höfer
Germany artist Candida Höfer studied under Bernd and Hilla Becher and is known for her technical precision, which elevates her architectural photography to the level of art. She specialises in large-format photography, capturing empty social spaces and interiors as an interrogation of the ‘psychology of social architecture.’
Pictured: Hospicio Cabañas Guadalajara III. Candida Höfer (c)
Candida Höfer
Germany artist Candida Höfer studied under Bernd and Hilla Becher and is known for her technical precision, which elevates her architectural photography to the level of art. She specialises in large-format photography, capturing empty social spaces and interiors as an interrogation of the ‘psychology of social architecture.’
Pictured: Museo Nacional del Virreinato Tepotzotlán. Candida Höfer (c)
Hélène Binet
Binet is a familiar name to design enthusiasts, having captured some of the world’s most startling contemporary buildings for practices and leading architecture publications. The Swiss-born photographer brings warmth and texture to her images by shooting entirely in analogue and has become the leading architectural photographer of her generation, collaborating with Daniel Libeskind, Peter Zumthor and the late Zaha Hadid.
Pictured: Heydar Aliyev Center, Baku, Azerbaijan . Photography: Hélène Binet via Amman Gallery (c)
Hélène Binet
Binet is a familiar name to design enthusiasts, having captured some of the world’s most startling contemporary buildings for practices and leading architecture publications. The Swiss-born photographer brings warmth and texture to her images by shooting entirely in analogue and has become the leading architectural photographer of her generation, collaborating with Daniel Libeskind, Peter Zumthor and the late Zaha Hadid.
Pictured: Venice Biennale 2018, UK Pavilion. Hélène Binet (c)
Hélène Binet
Binet is a familiar name to design enthusiasts, having captured some of the world’s most startling contemporary buildings for practices and leading architecture publications. The Swiss-born photographer brings warmth and texture to her images by shooting entirely in analogue and has become the leading architectural photographer of her generation, collaborating with Daniel Libeskind, Peter Zumthor and the late Zaha Hadid.
Pictured: Feng Shui Swimming Pool, Paris. Hélène Binet (c)
Read next: Historic Swiss monastery is reborn as new arts hub dedicated to female artists
