Great Black and White Photographers Part 2

Eugene Atget

Sources:

 Eugene Atget was born February 12th, 1857 in Libourne France and died August 4th, 1927 in Paris, France. His father a carriage builder died in 1862, and his mother died shortly after. He was raised by his maternal grandparents in Bordeaux and after finishing secondary school he joined the merchant navy.  In 1878 he failed his entrance exam for acting class his first try but not the second try, however since he was in the military he could not attend school very often so he was expelled.  Still in paris he joined a group of traveling actors where he met a woman named Valentine who became his companion until she died. In 1887 he quit the group due to an infection in his vocal cords following this his first photos date back to 1888. In 1890 he returned to Paris to become a professional photographer.  During World War 1 he stored all his photographs away and almost gave up photography completely.  In 1920 he began selling his photographs to institutions many of which features prostitutes. By the end of his life he had amassed over 8,000 negatives which he categorized Parisian Interiors, Vehicles in Paris, and Petits Metiers (trades and professions).








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