Outstanding Chilean photographers

Photo: Quintana Contreras, Antonio Manos de trabajador pampino 1959 Chile-I Region-Oficina Victoria Photographic Archive Collection, Antonio Quintana Contreras Sub-Collection.

Portraits, landscapes, architecture, abstract. The great talents of Chilean photography have explored a variety of genres. Below, we tell you about some of the essential names in the history of photography in Chile. 

Sergio Larraín:

He is the only Chilean photographer to have been part of the renowned Magnum agency, which provides photographic material for European and North American magazines. His works have appeared in prestigious international media and in exhibitions at the National Museum of Fine Arts in Santiago and at the Valencian Institute of Modern Art in Spain. Attracted by transcendental meditation and Eastern philosophies, in 1969 he retired from professional photography and settled in Arica, later settling in a small town in Ovalle to deepen his spiritual development. In 1999 he received the Ansel Adams Award from the Chilean-North American Institute.

Lola Falcón:

Aurora Falcón May was born in Chillán in 1907. She lived in several countries such as France, Spain and the United States. She portrayed the bohemian life in New York, where she frequented a group of Latin American artists and intellectuals. His black and white photographs taken with a Rolleiflex camera stand out in his work. He portrayed daily life in the streets, workers and children in poverty, as well as architecture and landscapes. He died in 2000 in Santiago.

Antonio Quintana:

His first works as a photographer took place in the 1930s, collaborating in art and architecture magazines. He is considered the precursor in Chile of photography as a social document, due to his record of workers, children and religious festivities, among other subjects. In October 1960 he conceived and inaugurated the collective exhibition "The Face of Chile" -according to experts, the most important one held in our country-, which portrayed people, landscapes, customs and work throughout the national territory.

Leonora Vicuña:

Born in Santiago in 1952, Leonora studied photography in Paris, where she lived for many years. Linked to Santiago's literary circles, much of her work was devoted to portraying Chilean writers and recording bohemian life in the 1970s and 1980s. His work has been exhibited in solo and group exhibitions in Chile and abroad. She currently lives in Carahue, Araucanía Region, where she has worked with the community of Mapuche Lafkenche women of Huapi Island, with whom she created the exhibition Nosotras, Lafkenche de Huapi in 2003.

Alfredo Molina La Hitte:

Alfredo Molina was an outstanding photographer known mainly for his portraits of Chile's high society and show business personalities of the mid-twentieth century. He exhibited his works at the Museo de Bellas Artes and worked for Zig-Zag magazine in charge of the social pages and special reports. He ventured into the theater as a decorator and actor, so his proximity to artists allowed him to portray the most famous actresses and actors of the 40's, 50's and 60's. His record is characterized by elegance and elegance. His record is characterized by elegance and the play of light and shadow.

Paz Errázuriz:

She is one of the founders of the Association of Independent Photographers (AFI), created in the early 1980s. Although she was self-taught in photography, her first works consisted of national and international media and the Vicariate of Solidarity. Later, he studied formally at the International Center of Photography in New York. His work consists mainly of black and white portraits, in which he explores precariousness and marginality in different spaces, from urban to rural life. In 1995 the Chilean-North American Institute presented him with the Ansel Adams Award, and in 2017 he received the National Plastic Arts Award.

Luis Ladrón de Guevara:

The son of a Chilean artist and a Danish journalist, Luis Ladrón de Guevara was born in Denmark in 1926 and was 4 years old when he and his family arrived in Chile. He dedicated himself professionally to photography and advertising. His links with the cultural world allowed him to portray iconic characters such as Lily Garafulic and Marta Colvin. He contributed to the corporate and advertising image of public and private companies. In 1995 he received the First International Prize of Sweden.

Marcos Chamudes:

Before dedicating himself to photography and journalism, Marcos Chamudes was elected deputy of the Republic representing the Communist Party. He traveled to New York, where he awakened his interest and vocation for photography. He obtained U.S. citizenship and enlisted in the military forces as a soldier-photographer during World War II. He held several exhibitions, most notably at the Museum of Modern Art in New York and at the United Nations, where he worked for a time as a reporter. In the 1950s he returned to Chile where he set up his own studio and showroom. Over the years, he devoted himself mainly to journalism, distancing himself from the world of photography.

Source: Chilean Memory