"People of the 20th Century", August Sander (1876-1964) | PhotoAnthology

Young Farmers, 1914. Collection of The Museum of Modern Art. Image courtesy of MoMA.

Foreign Workers, 1941-45. Collection of The Museum of Modern Art. Image courtesy of MoMA.

Barber, 1930. Collection of The Museum of Modern Art. Image courtesy of MoMA.

Member of Parliament, Democrat, 1927. Collection of The Museum of Modern Art. Image courtesy of MoMA.

Rural Bride, 1920-25. Collection of The Museum of Modern Art. Image courtesy of MoMA.

Nun, 1921. Collection of The Museum of Modern Art. Image courtesy of MoMA.

Farmer Sowing,1952. Collection of The Museum of Modern Art. Image courtesy of MoMA.

Peasant from the Leuscheid,
1931. Collection of The Museum of Modern Art. Image courtesy of MoMA.

Unemployed Sailor, 1928. Collection of The Museum of Modern Art. Image courtesy of MoMA.

Street musicians, 1929. Collection of The Museum of Modern Art. Image courtesy of MoMA.

The Painter Heinrich Hörle,
1928. Collection of The Museum of Modern Art. Image courtesy of MoMA.

Master Roofer, 1930. Collection of The Museum of Modern Art. Image courtesy of MoMA.

Small-Town Girl,1927. Collection of The Museum of Modern Art. Image courtesy of MoMA.

Master Shoemaker, 1940-42

Master Mason, 1932. Collection of The Museum of Modern Art. Image courtesy of MoMA.

Washerwoman, c. 1930. Collection of The Museum of Modern Art. Image courtesy of MoMA.

Young Farmers, 1925-27. Collection of The Museum of Modern Art. Image courtesy of MoMA.

Peasant Couple from the Leuscheid, 1931. Collection of The Museum of Modern Art. Image courtesy of MoMA.

Indian Man and German Woman, 1926. Collection of The Museum of Modern Art. Image courtesy of MoMA.

Circus Artist, 1926-32. Collection of The Museum of Modern Art. Image courtesy of MoMA.

Father, 91 Years Old and Son, 70 Years Old, from the Westerwald, 1931. Collection of The Museum of Modern Art. Image courtesy of MoMA.

Farming Family from the Eifel Highlands, c. 1930. Collection of The Museum of Modern Art. Image courtesy of MoMA.

Village Schoolteacher, 1921. Collection of The Museum of Modern Art. Image courtesy of MoMA.

Blind Girls, c. 1930. Collection of The Museum of Modern Art. Image courtesy of MoMA.

Small-Town Dwellers,1911-14. Collection of The Museum of Modern Art. Image courtesy of MoMA.

Art Dealer, 1927. Collection of The Museum of Modern Art. Image courtesy of MoMA.

Mother and Daughter, 1912. Collection of The Museum of Modern Art. Image courtesy of MoMA.

The Generations, 1930. Collection of The Museum of Modern Art. Image courtesy of MoMA.

Workmen in the Ruhr Region,
c. 1928. Collection of The Museum of Modern Art. Image courtesy of MoMA.

The Philosopher, 1913. Collection of The Museum of Modern Art. Image courtesy of MoMA.

Young Farmer, circa 1912-13. Collection of The Museum of Modern Art. Image courtesy of MoMA.

Mother and Daughter [Helene Abelen with Daughter Josepha], c. 1926. Collection of The Museum of Modern Art. Image courtesy of MoMA.

Kinetics Researcher from Vienna [Max Thun-Hohenstein], c. 1930. Collection of The Museum of Modern Art. Image courtesy of MoMA.

Widower, 1914. Collection of The Museum of Modern Art. Image courtesy of MoMA.

Old Farmer, 1931-32. Collection of The Museum of Modern Art. Image courtesy of MoMA.

Explosion Victim, c. 1930. Collection of The Museum of Modern Art. Image courtesy of MoMA.

Pharmacist, c. 1930. Collection of The Museum of Modern Art. Image courtesy of MoMA.

Fairground Workers, 1926-32. Collection of The Museum of Modern Art. Image courtesy of MoMA.

Young Famers, c. 1925. Collection of The Museum of Modern Art. Image courtesy of MoMA.

Farmers from Lenscheid, 1926. Collection of The Museum of Modern Art. Image courtesy of MoMA.

The Man of the Soil, 1910. Collection of The Museum of Modern Art. Image courtesy of MoMA.

Porter, c. 1929. Collection of The Museum of Modern Art. Image courtesy of MoMA.

Farmer from the Eifel, 1930. Collection of The Museum of Modern Art. Image courtesy of MoMA.

Rural Brother and Sister, 1925-30. Collection of The Museum of Modern Art. Image courtesy of MoMA.

First Violinist in Gypsy Band,
c. 1930. Collection of The Museum of Modern Art. Image courtesy of MoMA.

Young Girl in Circus Caravan,
1926. Collection of The Museum of Modern Art. Image courtesy of MoMA.

Farm Children, 1928. Collection of The Museum of Modern Art. Image courtesy of MoMA.

Young Farming Couple,1913-14. Collection of The Museum of Modern Art. Image courtesy of MoMA.

Bricklayer's Mate, 1928. Collection of The Museum of Modern Art. Image courtesy of MoMA.

The Architect Hans Heinz Lüttgen and his Wife Dora,
1926. Collection of The Museum of Modern Art. Image courtesy of MoMA.

Teacher, c. 1912. Collection of The Museum of Modern Art. Image courtesy of MoMA.

The painter Gottfried Brockmann , 1924. Collection of The Museum of Modern Art. Image courtesy of MoMA.

Pastry Chef, 1928. Collection of The Museum of Modern Art. Image courtesy of MoMA.

Fairground Woman
c. 1930. Collection of The Museum of Modern Art. Image courtesy of MoMA.

Skilled Tradesman and his Wife, 1923. Collection of The Museum of Modern Art. Image courtesy of MoMA.

The Boxers - Paul Roderstein and Hein Hesse, 1928. Collection of The Museum of Modern Art. Image courtesy of MoMA.

Farmer, 1913. Collection of The Museum of Modern Art. Image courtesy of MoMA.

Police officer, 1925. Collection of The Museum of Modern Art. Image courtesy of MoMA.

Secretary at West German Radio, Cologne, 1931. Collection of The Museum of Modern Art. Image courtesy of MoMA.

Farmer on his Way to Church,
1925-1926. Collection of The Museum of Modern Art. Image courtesy of MoMA.

Books

August Sander: People of the 20th Century

(Schirmer/Mosel, 2013)

August Sander: People of the 20th Century

August Sander: Masterpieces

(Prestel, 2019)

August Sander

(National Portrait Gallery, 1998)

August Sander

(Thames & Hudson, 2019)

August Sander: Photographer Extraordinary

(Thames & Hudson, 1973)

August Sander: Seeing, Observing, Thinking

(Schirmer/Mosel, 2009)

August Sander

(Aperture, 2005)

August Sander: Face of Our Time

(Schirmer/Mosel, 2008)

In Focus: August Sander. Photographs from the J. Paul Getty Museum

(J. Paul Getty Museum, 2000)

August Sander: Objective Romantic

(ABC Art Books Canada, 2013)

Related Projects

The Family, Luzzara, 1953

Paul Strand (1890-1976)

Portrayal of rural Italian village life, revealing intimate details of community members in domestic and communal spaces, highlighting unromanticized realities of post-war Italy.

Behind the Saint-Lazare station, Paris, 1932. Image courtesy of Magnum Photos.

The Decisive Moment

Henri Cartier-Bresson (1908-2004)

Ephemeral human moments portrayed through a fusion of spontaneity and precise composition.

Untitled, 1929-31. Collection of The Museum of Modern Art. Image courtesy of MoMA.

Roll, Jordan, Roll

Doris Ulmann (1882-1934)

African American life and culture in rural South Carolina during an era of social and cultural transition.

Trastevere, Rome, 1959. Image courtesy of Magnum Photos.

Henri Cartier-Bresson (1908-2004)

European identity captured through black-and-white photographs spanning five decades, emphasizing shared humanity and cultural diversity.

Young Boy, Gondevilie, Charente

A Profile of France

Paul Strand (1890-1976)

Post-war French rural life, traditions, and landscapes through the lens of an American photographer and the words of a French poet.

Lampshade Seller, 1899-1900. Collection of The Museum of Modern Art. Image courtesy of MoMA.

Picturesque Paris: Street Trades

Eugène Atget (1857-1927)

Visual documentation of street work and commerce in early twentieth-century Paris.