Henry Moore Artwork Catalogue
Felix H. Man
Skip to main contentMore Information
Person TypePhotographer
Felix H. Man
German, 1893 - 1985
Born in Germany in 1893, Felix Man became interested in photography at a young age, acquiring his first camera aged 11. He studied fine art and art history at the University of Munich. In 1926 Man moved to Berlin, working initially as an illustrator for the newspaper BZ am Mittag, before becoming a photographer for Tempo and Morgenpost. In 1929, Man joined the photo agency Deutscher Photodienst (Dephot), and over the next four years produced over 100 photo essays for the newpapers Münchner Illustrierte Presse and Berliner Illustrierte Zeitung.
In 1933, the Jewish-owned publisher Ullstein Verlag, which published Münchner Illustrierte Presse and Berliner Illustrierte Zeitung, was taken over by the Nazis. Man opposed Nazism and left Germany for London in May 1934, where he met Stephan Lorent, a fellow recent immigrant and the editor of the Weekly Illustrated. He worked as a photographer for the Weekly Illustrated and, from 1935, the Daily Mirror, where his photos were published under the pseudonym Lensman. Man also freelanced for film companies, fashion magazines, and the magazines Lilliput and Picture Post. In 1940, Man was interned as a so-called "enemy alien". Following his release he continued to work for Picture Post, and learned colour photography; from 1948 he primarily worked in colour. He became a British citizen in 1948.
In the 1950s Man left the Picture Post and worked for Life and Sports Illustrated. He photographed several artists at work in the studios, including Henry Moore; in 1954 he published these photos in Eight European Artists (0007728). He continued to photograph Moore in the 1950s and 1960s; their correspondence until 1976 is recorded in the Henry Moore Archive. From the late 1940s Man also began to collect art, and eventually amassed one of the largest private collections of lithographs in the world. In the later part of his life, he published lithographs by contemporary artists as the editor of Europaeische Graphik, including several by Henry Moore. Man died in London in 1985.
In 1933, the Jewish-owned publisher Ullstein Verlag, which published Münchner Illustrierte Presse and Berliner Illustrierte Zeitung, was taken over by the Nazis. Man opposed Nazism and left Germany for London in May 1934, where he met Stephan Lorent, a fellow recent immigrant and the editor of the Weekly Illustrated. He worked as a photographer for the Weekly Illustrated and, from 1935, the Daily Mirror, where his photos were published under the pseudonym Lensman. Man also freelanced for film companies, fashion magazines, and the magazines Lilliput and Picture Post. In 1940, Man was interned as a so-called "enemy alien". Following his release he continued to work for Picture Post, and learned colour photography; from 1948 he primarily worked in colour. He became a British citizen in 1948.
In the 1950s Man left the Picture Post and worked for Life and Sports Illustrated. He photographed several artists at work in the studios, including Henry Moore; in 1954 he published these photos in Eight European Artists (0007728). He continued to photograph Moore in the 1950s and 1960s; their correspondence until 1976 is recorded in the Henry Moore Archive. From the late 1940s Man also began to collect art, and eventually amassed one of the largest private collections of lithographs in the world. In the later part of his life, he published lithographs by contemporary artists as the editor of Europaeische Graphik, including several by Henry Moore. Man died in London in 1985.