willis bock, 1928tanya & willy, 1927rut with mask, 1927woman with whip, 1930paul citroën, 1926dreamers, 1928-1929mystery of the street, 1928beach life, 1930berlin, 1930s
umbo was born otto maximilian umbehr in düsseldorf germany in 1902. he was admitted to the bauhaus in 1921 and studied there until 1923. upon graduation he moved to berlin where he created a new photographic aesthetic with his portraits of bohemian berliners launching the german avant-garde photography movement. at the end of 1928 he became a founding member of the agency dephot (deutscher photodienst gmbh) a center for modern photojournalism. the agency closed in 1933 when the nazi's came to power & he eventually enlisted in the war & continued his photojournalistic career. in 1943 his archive of 50 to 60,000 negatives were destroyed during a bombing leaving few preserved works today. he went on to photograph post war ruin and then teaching. he died 13 may, 1980.