10 Facts About Arnold Genthe

Arnold Genthe was a German-American photographer, best known for his photographs of San Francisco's Chinatown, the 1906 San Francisco earthquake, and his portraits of noted people, from politicians and socialites to literary figures and entertainment celebrities.

Arnold Genthe was born in Berlin, Prussia, to Luise Zober and Hermann Genthe, a professor of Latin and Greek at the Graues Kloster in Berlin.

Arnold Genthe was intrigued by the Chinese section of the city and photographed its inhabitants, from children to drug addicts, Due to his subjects' possible fear of his camera or their reluctance to have pictures taken, Genthe sometimes hid his camera.

Arnold Genthe sometimes removed evidence of Western culture from these pictures, cropping or erasing as needed.

In 1906, Arnold Genthe designed the plans for his large Craftsman-style cottage located on Camino Real and 11th Avenue on the east side.

Arnold Genthe worked primarily in portraiture, and Theodore Roosevelt, Woodrow Wilson, and John D Rockefeller all sat for him.

Arnold Genthe photographed dancers, including Anna Pavlova, Isadora Duncan, Audrey Munson, Helen Moller and Ruth St Denis, and his photos were featured in the 1916 book, The Book of the Dance.

Arnold Genthe was an early adopter of the autochrome color photography process.

Arnold Genthe began experimenting with the process in 1905 in Carmel, California.

Arnold Genthe claimed credit for the first exhibition of color photographs in America; later scholars determined this is not accurate, but he was undoubtedly one of the earliest.