Frieda G. Riess (1890–1957), who grew up in a Jewish family of merchants, ran a prestigious photography studio on Kurfürstendamm after the First World War. Her clients included not only theatre managers, actors and writers, but also major diplomats and politicians.
The press of the 1920s sang the praises of “The Riess”, as she was known at the time, highlighting her role in portraying high society. Her reputation spread far beyond Berlin thanks to her international clientele and her “Invitations to Tea”. This great esteem and commercial success ensured that her solo exhibition at Galerie Flechtheim in 1925, with 177 portraits on show, was a sensational event.
In 2008 Das Verborgene Museum, as a sequel to its series on Europe’s Women Photographers, used the premises of the Berlinische Galerie to put on the first show devoted to Frieda G. Riess since she moved to Paris in 1932.
Find out more about the artist on the website (archive) of Das Verborgene Museum
