For the first time in Germany, f³ – freiraum für fotografie presents a comprehensive retrospective of the Austrian-British exile photographer Edith Tudor-Hart (*1908 Vienna – †1973 Brighton).
Edith Tudor-Hart, born Suschitzky, was a central figure in social documentary photography between 1930 and 1955. In her work, she actively highlighted social injustices, addressing topics such as poverty, integration, and women’s rights, while documenting the living conditions of the working class. She photographed life in Vienna’s courtyards, along the Danube and in the Prater, protests against rising fascism, miners, factory workers, and fishermen in Wales, the post-war women’s movement, and the new institutions of progressive education.
Coming from a secular Jewish family in Vienna and a committed communist, her life was shaped by political persecution and personal hardships. She initially trained as a Montessori kindergarten teacher in Vienna and London, where she also practiced her profession. In the late 1920s, she studied photography and graphic design at the Bauhaus in Dessau, where she developed her objective, socially critical style. In 1933, she was imprisoned for her involvement with the Communist Party and fled fascism into exile in England. She married her husband, British physician Alexander Tudor-Hart, at the British Embassy in Vienna so that she could leave to Great Britain as his wife. In London, she continued her photographic work successfully, publishing numerous photo essays in left-leaning newspapers and magazines, including Arbeiter Illustrierte Zeitung (AIZ), Kuckuck and Picture Post.
It is believed that Edith Tudor-Hart had been working with Soviet intelligence and secret services since her teenage years. However, her activities as an agent remained undiscovered throughout her life. Historical records confirm that she played a key role in recruiting members of the famous “Cambridge Five” spy ring. Fearing surveillance and exposure, she destroyed a part of her negatives in the 1950s and, due to pressure from the British secret service and for health reasons, ended her career as a photographer. To support herself, she opened a small antiquarian bookstore. Edith Tudor-Hart died in Brighton in 1973. It was only decades after her death that her photographic work was rediscovered and reassessed. Her photographic estate is now housed in the Fotohof Salzburg archive.
OPENING: Fr., March 6, 2026, 7 PM. Admission free!
Image: Wolf Suschitzky, »Edith Tudor-Hart«, ca. 1936 © Estate of W. Suschitzky, courtesy Fotohof
An exhibition of
Funded by ENGAGEMENT GLOBAL
with funds from the
