Clemens Kalischer

Clemens Kalischer immigrated with his parents to Paris from his native Bavaria in 1933, when Hitler came to power, and then to the United States in 1942. After studying photography at Cooper Union and the New School for Social Research, he worked as a photojournalist for the French Press news agency and for Coronet magazine. By 1949 he was a successful freelance photographer and photojournalist, with work published in such magazines and newspapers as the New York Times, Newsweek, Time, Fortune, Du, and in the alternative press as well, including In Context and Common Ground. Kalischer's architectural photographs have appeared in Architectural Forum, Urban Design International, and Progressive Architecture. He has operated the Image Gallery in Stockbridge, Massachusetts, for more than thirty years, and maintains an archive of some 500,000 stock photographs, supplied to publications worldwide. As both photographer and teacher, he works extensively with institutions such as Bennington and Hampshire colleges, Georgetown, and Harvard. Kalischer has been an active member of One by One, an international dialogue group for survivors and perpetrators of the Holocaust that seeks emotional healing.
Kalischer's work extends the tradition of photojournalism inspired by Henri Cartier-Bresson and André Kertész. His recent interest in agriculture, architecture, education, the environment, music, religion, and socioeconomic matters, however, adds a level of personal dedication to his images that pushes his body of work beyond its aesthetic precedents.
Lisa Hostetler

Handy et al. Reflections in a Glass Eye: Works from the International Center of Photography Collection, New York: Bulfinch Press in association with the International Center of Photography, 1999, p. 219.