Barbara Klemm is unquestionably Germany’s best-known press photographer. Klemm started with with the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung in 1953, initially in the photo lab. From 1970 onwards, she established her name as news photographer with photos in which she portrayed German history with unerring style and instinct for the essentials.
With her camera she documented, as she herself said, frequently »the right moment«. Classic examples are the meeting between Willy Brandt and Leonid Breschnew in 1973, scenes from German reunification in1989. From early times on Barbara Klemm was not simply a press photographer, but was recognized and acclaimed as photo artist way beyong reporting confines. Her photos are exhibited in leading museums like the Frankfurt Museum for Modern Art, the Schirn Kunsthalle, the Essen Folkwang Museum and the German Historical Museum in Berlin.
She has won numerous awards, is Honorary Professor at the Darmstadt Polytechnic and Member of the Academy of Arts Berlin Brandenburg. She has published various books, most recently »Barbara Klemm Künstlerporträts«, where she shows pictures of many famous personalities from Friedrich Dürrenmatt to Madonna, from Joseph Beuys to Alfred Hitchcock. The year 2004 brings the career of the renowned FAZ photographer to an end. However,she will continue to take photos, but – as she says – no longer under the pressure of current events.