Jewish Museum - London

Israel Through the Lens An Illustrated Talk by Ruth Corman

Only ten years after photography was invented in 1839, Jerusalem became a hub of activity with Christian photographers in particular creating images of holy sites and establishing extensive archives.

Following the first Aliyah of 1893, the focus changed as Jews began to portray ‘Eretz Yisrael’ as their homeland and the Zionist organisations adopted photography to help promote their aims.

From the birth of the State, the waves of immigration and Israel’s many wars meant that photography remained almost exclusively photo-journalistic until the mid 1970’s.

Then recognition of photography as an art form by museums and art institutions encouraged a new diversity of styles. Today Israeli photographers enjoy world-wide acclaim for their originality and talent.