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Rudi Frey

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Rudi Frey. Image taken by unknown Photographer

Rudi Frey (21 December 1941 in Radebeul – 8 January 2014 in Rome)[1] was an Austrian photographer and recipient of the Robert Capa Gold Medal who worked from Rome for international magazines.

Life

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Although Rudi Frey was born in Germany, he grew up in Salzburg. After leaving school, he left Salzburg and rarely returned there throughout his life. He first went to Paris to study film and began working as a photographer. He then assisted photographers Barry Lategan and David Bailey in London. In 1973, he got a job in Rome at the Italian magazine Panorama and moved to the Italian capital. Later he also worked for Time.[1] It is said about his life that it almost ideally traces the biography of the independent, reckless photographer of the "golden age of press photography."[[2][3]

According to Johnathan Beaty and S.C. Gwynn, Rudi Frey played a key role in exposing the BCCI banking scandal - getting the journalists a camera and then smuggling rolls of film from Poland to Rome, from where they were sent to the editorial office in New York.[4]

Rudi Frey -Self portrait in a hotel room
Rudi Frey with Pope John Paul II. Image taken by unknown Photographer

Rudi Frey reported from Beirut (Libanese War, 1982),[5] Sarajevo (Winter Olympics 1984),[6] Saudi-Arabia (1991),[7] Kuwait (Iraqi invasion of Kuwait, 1991);[8] he also regularly photographed in the Vatican and accompanied the pope on trips.[1][9] He photographed the magazine covers of Time: 28 December 1981 (General Jaruzelski) and 9 September 1985 (Mikhail Gorbachev); Panorama: 13 November 1975 (Pier Paolo Pasolini).

For his photographic coverage from Poland in 1981, of the Solidarność movement - its beginnings, members until the proclamation of martial law – he was awarded the Robert Capa Gold Medal.[10] His portrait of Wojciech Jaruzelski is part of the collection of the National Portrait Gallery.[11]

Due to a donation by his heirs, Frey's photographic estate came to FOTOHOF>ARCHIV in 2019.[12] In some books, primarily memoirs by fellow journalists[13][14] and Vatican insiders,[9][15] anecdotes about Rudi Frey can be found, but apart from that, very little is known about the time after he left Salzburg, about his life as a press photographer.[16]

Exhibitions

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References

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  1. ^ a b c "Rudi Frey Bio". FOTOHOF ARCHIV (in German). Retrieved 2023-10-23.
  2. ^ Verena Riedl (2022-05-30). "Ausstellung im Fotohof: Rudi Frey - Professione: Reporter". MeinBezirk (in German). Retrieved 2023-10-21.
  3. ^ Redaktion (2022-07-05). "15 Must-see Sommerausstellungen in Salzburg". Parnass (in German). Retrieved 2023-10-21.
  4. ^ Jonathan Beaty & S.C. Gwynne (1993). The Outlaw Bank. A Wild Ride Into the Secret Heart of BCCI. Washington: Beard Books. ISBN 9781587981463.
  5. ^ Time Publisher (1982-09-27). "A Letter From The Publisher". Time. Retrieved 2023-10-21.
  6. ^ Time Publisher (1984-02-27). "A Letter From The Publisher". Time. Retrieved 2023-10-21.
  7. ^ Time Publisher (1991-01-21). "A Letter From The Publisher". Time. Retrieved 2023-10-21.
  8. ^ Time Publisher (1991-03-11). "A Letter From The Publisher". Time. Retrieved 2023-10-21.
  9. ^ a b John Thavis (2013). The Vatican Diaries: A Behind-the-Scenes Look at the Power, Personalities and Politics at the Heart of the Catholic Church. Viking Penguin / Penguin. ISBN 978-0-24-196742-3.
  10. ^ "The Robert Capa Gold Medal 1981". Oversees Press Club of America. Retrieved 2023-10-23.
  11. ^ "Wojciech Witold Jaruzelski". Sammlung National Portrait Gallery. Retrieved 2023-10-21.
  12. ^ Nicole Schyerer (2022-06-29). "Männerheld im Spiegel: Vom Modeshooting zum Krisenherd". Falter (in German). Retrieved 2023-10-21.
  13. ^ John F. Stacks (2012). Albest. Untold Stories from the Correspondents for the Legendary Time-Life News Service. Xlibris. ISBN 978-1477101018.
  14. ^ Dirck Halstead (2006). Moments in Time: Photos and Stories from One of America's Top Photojournalists. Harry N. Abrahams. ISBN 9780810954410.
  15. ^ Wilton Wynn (1988). Keepers of the Keys: John XXIII, Paul VI, and John Paul II, Three who Changed the Church. Random House. ISBN 9780394557625.
  16. ^ Bernhard Flieher (2022-06-02). Suchen nach dem Bild des Fotografen. Kriegsfotograf und Selbstporträt-Dandy: Im Fotohof kommt man den Geheimnissen des in Salzburg geborenen Rudi Frey näher (in German). Salzburger Nachrichten.
  17. ^ "Professione: Reporter". fotohof.at (in German). Retrieved 2023-10-23.
  18. ^ "BERUF: REPORTER". Leica Fotografie International (in German). 2022-07-15. Retrieved 2023-10-23.
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