Confirmation Candidate

August Sander explored the dynamics of the human condition by depicting German people from varied classes, professions, and identities. Among his early photographs, is the 1911 work on exhibition, an image of a child on her Christian confirmation day in rural Germany. This photograph became part of what he, in the 1920’s, formalized as “People of the 20th Century,” a massive project that continued until 1954. He described it as ‘a declaration of faith in photography as universal language.’

In 1951, L. Fritz Gruber organized a large exhibition of Sander’s work in Cologne, introducing him to Edward Steichen, the famed photographer and curator at MoMA, NY. Steichen subsequently included a number of Sander’s photos in the exhibition, ‘The Family of Man,’ at MoMA. Ever since, Sander has had large exhibitions and has been collected by museums around the world.