Bill Brandt (Hermann Wilhelm Brandt)
Born b Hamburg (Germany) 1904 Died 1983
Work:
Brandt fled Germany and settled in England he quickly changed his name but was always conscious that he did not belong and was an outsider. This sense of not belonging of being a voyeur in a strange society was to help Brandt make strong observations of the British class system. His book The English at Home, 1936 illustrated the range of social classes. Brandt was a shy, reticent and quirky man who didn't fit into society maybe as he didn't wish to, he kept a distance. He had worked as an apprentice in both Switzerland and Paris (working with Man Ray in 1931-35). Brandt picked up elements of surrealist practice from Man Ray. His work was far ranging and covered a diverse range of genres. He turned to landscape in the 1940s producing a romantic series Literary Britain in 1951.

Themes:
City (The social structure e.g. from servants, working class life, to the upper classes.)
Documentary (of life, culture, classes, work)
Portraits (of people at leisure and at work)
Portraits (of famous people e.g. artists and writers)
Nudes (the body as an object)
Natural Forms (the body and it shape and form)
War photographs (e.g. during blackouts, in air raid shelters, in the underground)
The landscape (at night and different weather conditions)
Figures in the landscape (including himself and of nude models, often using strange perspectives and viewpoints)
Landscape (producing surreal shots to romantic)
Self Portraits (reflections in the landscape, putting himself into the landscape)
Connections to other photographers:
Humphrey Spender (social issues)
Tony Ray Jones (British social hierarchy)
Bert Hardy (documentary of Scottish life e.g. Gorbals)
Don McCullin (documentary e.g. Ireland)
Roger Mayne (life in London e.g. children at leisure)
Martin Parr (society in the 70s-present day)
Paul Reas (the way we live)
Josef Koudelka (documents of place)
Helen Levitt (life in Harlem)
Lewis Hine (life in America- social issues)
Jacob Riis (life for immigrants arriving in America)
To Landscapes pageTo reflection & refractionTo Natural FormsTo The City

Bill Brandt
The Magic Lantern of a Car Headlights
1945

Bill Brandt
Adelphi, September,
1939

Bill Brandt
Hail, Hell and Halifax
1948


Bill Brandt
Self Portrait with Mirror, East Sussex Coast
1966


Bill Brandt
Top Withens
1945

Bill Brandt
London
1952