Photographs by Anders Petersen

Anders Petersen is considered to be one of the most influential contemporary European photographers working in the documentary genre. In recognition of his life´s work, which is characterised by great openness and intensity, the Germany Society of Photography awarded him the Dr. Erich Salomon Prize 2008. The prize has been awarded annually since 1971 for "exemplary application of photography in journalism" in commemoration of the great photographer of the Weimar Republic era, Dr. Erich Salomon, who had a profound impact on modern photo journalism.

Petersen attained renown already in 1978 for his book Café Lehmitz, which today is viewed as a milestone in the genre of documentary photography. Over a period of two years he created an unbiased, true-to-life photo documentation of Café Lehmitz, a pub located at the end of the Reeperbahn in Hamburg which was frequented by prostitutes, pimps and petty criminals.


Since Café Lehmitz Anders Petersen has published 21 books of photographs. Influenced by the work of Robert Frank and Brassaï, he has developed his own unmistakeable visual language, applying it to explore the hidden aspects of human existence. His series on socially marginised people and outlaws set the style for a generation of young, up-and-coming photographers.

Petersen was born on 3 May 1944 in Solna (Sweden). In 1966 he attended the well-known photography school of Christer Strömholm, the pioneer of modern Swedish photography. Later, Petersen returned to the school as a teacher. In 1967 he decided to go to Hamburg, where he took the photographs for his book Café Lehmitz. Today Anders  Petersen lives and works in Stockholm.

In cooperation with the German Society of Photography www.dgph.de

Entrance is free.