Germaine Krull (1897-1985) led an extraordinary life that spanned ninedecades and four continents. She witnessed many of the high points ofmodernism and recorded some of the major upheavals of the twentiethcentury. Her photographs include avant-garde montages, ironic studiesof female nudes, press propaganda shots, as well as some of the mostsuccessful commercial and fashion images of her day. Her politicalcommitments led her from communist allegiance to incarceration inRussia as a counterrevolutionary to support of the Free French causeagainst Hitler to a reclusive existence among Tibetan monks inIndia. Kim Sichel's study of this remarkable artist reveals a life ofdeep convictions, implausible transformations, complex emotionalrelationships, and inspired achievements. Krull refused to limit herself to one long-term relationship, onegeographical region, or one set of religious and moralbeliefs. Contemporary critics ranked her with Man Ray and AndreKertesz. Younger photographers such as Berenice Abbott looked up toher. Yet until recently the absence of an archive has made a properevaluation of Krull's contribution to photography and to modernismdifficult if not impossible. In this book Sichel examines Krull'sautobiographical texts and photographic oeuvre to present and unravelthe rich mythology that Krull fabricated around her life and work. Thechapters follow the geographical and chronological sequence of Krull'slife, moving from Munich to Moscow to Berlin to Amsterdam to Paris toBrazil to Africa to Bangkok and other locations. This book, whichaccompanies the first major retrospective exhibition on Krull, shouldsecure Krull's rightful place among the masters of twentieth-centuryphotography. EXHIBITION SCHEDULE:Museum FolkwangEssen, GermanyOctober 1999 - December 1999Haus der KunstMunich, GermanyDecember 1999 - February 2000San Francisco Museum of Modern ArtSan Francisco, CaliforniaMarch - June 2000KunsthalRotterdam, the NetherlandsAugust - September 2000Centre PompidouParis,
