46 Facts About Ernst Haas

Ernst Haas was an Austrian-American photojournalist and color photographer.

Ernst Haas's images were carried by magazines like Life and Vogue and, in 1962, were the subject of the first single-artist exhibition of color photography at New York's Museum of Modern Art.

Ernst Haas served as president of the cooperative Magnum Photos.

Ernst Haas was born in Vienna, Austria, on March 2,1921.

Ernst Haas was the son of Ernst Haas, a high-level civil servant, and Frederike Haas-Zipser.

Ernst Haas was raised in the cultural climate of Vienna before World War II.

Ernst Haas's father enjoyed music and photography, and his mother wrote poetry and aspired to be an artist.

Ernst Haas's teachers had him act as a judge, rather than a participant, in artistic competitions among his peers.

From 1935 to 1938, Ernst Haas attended LEH Grinzing, a private school in Vienna, where he studied art, literature, poetry, philosophy, and science.

Ernst Haas was sent to a German army labor camp, working six hours a day in exchange for two daily hours of school attendance.

Ernst Haas left the service in 1940 and returned to Vienna to study medicine.

Ernst Haas was only able to complete one year of medical school before he was forced out as a result of his Jewish ancestry.

Ernst Haas was uninterested in learning photography as a child, though his father tried to encourage him.

Ernst Haas's interest grew, and he soon began to take his own photographs.

Ernst Haas took advantage of his family's extensive library, as well as museums and libraries in Vienna.

Ernst Haas studied philosophy and poetry, in particular, both of which informed his beliefs about the creative potential for photography.

Unsure of his career path, Ernst Haas realized that photography could provide both a means of support and a vehicle for communicating his ideas.

Ernst Haas obtained his first camera in 1946, at the age of 25, trading a 20-pound block of margarine for a Rolleiflex on the Vienna black market.

In 1947 Ernst Haas presented his first exhibition at the American Red Cross in Vienna, where he had a part-time position teaching photography to soldiers.

When Ernst Haas returned home, he similarly documented the war's effects in Vienna.

Ernst Haas obtained assignments from magazines like Heute, often working with fellow correspondent Inge Morath.

Ernst Haas's images show the anticipation and grief of people searching for their lost relatives among the survivors.

Ernst Haas decided he did not want to be limited by Life's restrictive scope.

The first images Ernst Haas took in the United States showed fellow immigrants arriving at Ellis Island.

Ernst Haas's approach was less direct and confrontational than that of colleagues such as Lisette Model and William Klein.

In 1952 Ernst Haas hitchhiked across the United States to White Sands National Monument in New Mexico, planning to photograph Native Americans.

Once back in New York, Ernst Haas purchased color film to begin a new project.

Ernst Haas had experimented with color as early as 1949, but this would be his first opportunity to work with what was still a scarce and expensive medium.

Ernst Haas spent two months photographing New York, and in 1953 Life published his vivid images.

Ernst Haas frequently employed techniques like shallow depth of field, selective focus, and blurred motion to create evocative, metaphorical works.

Ernst Haas supported his adventurous personal work with commercially viable photojournalism, advertising, and motion picture stills photography.

Ernst Haas made significant and lasting contributions to the organization as its leader.

Ernst Haas had a deep understanding of the cooperative's mission and encouraged its members to strive for excellence and innovation.

Ernst Haas was a respected stills photographer for many films, including The Misfits, Little Big Man, Moby Dick, Hello Dolly, West Side Story, and Heaven's Gate.

Ernst Haas was notable for his editorial journalism and unit stills work, but was reluctant to pursue work in advertising before meeting Amil Gargano, an uncharacteristic advertising art director.

Ernst Haas was inspired and fascinated by the natural world, and took photographs of the elements throughout his career.

Ernst Haas issued the monographs In America, In Germany, and Himalayan Pilgrimage.

In 1980 Ernst Haas published a limited edition portfolio of dye transfer prints from The Creation with Daniel Wolf Press.

Ernst Haas began work on a book devoted to Japan and a project illustrating the poetry of Rainer Maria Rilke, whose writings inspired him throughout his life.

In 1962, the year of his retrospective at the Museum of Modern Art, Ernst Haas was invited to write and host The Art of Seeing, a four-hour miniseries for National Public Television, then in its first year.

Newsweek magazine praised its success as a television program, for Ernst Haas combined seeing with hearing.

Ernst Haas taught frequently at photography workshops, including the Maine Photographic Workshops, the Ansel Adams Workshop in Yosemite National Park, and the Anderson Ranch Arts Center near Aspen, Colorado.

Ernst Haas encouraged his interest in Tibet, and their travels resulted in the book Himalayan Pilgrimage.

In 1958, Haas was listed as one of the 10 greatest photographers in the world by Popular Photography magazine, along with Ansel Adams, Richard Avedon, Henri Cartier-Bresson, Alfred Eisenstadt, Philippe Halsman, Yousuf Karsh, Gjon Mili, Irving Penn, and W Eugene Smith.

Ernst Haas won the Hasselblad Award just before his death.

The Ernst Haas Estate is operated by his children, Alexander Haas and Victoria Haas.