Photo London is saddened to learn of the passing of Robert Hershkowitz, a distinguished dealer, scholar and longstanding contributor to the fair, who died aged 81.
Hershkowitz was a central figure in the field of nineteenth-century photography, with a career spanning more than five decades. Working alongside his partner Paula Hershkowitz, and later with their daughter Kate, he developed a practice defined by connoisseurship, rigorous research and a deep commitment to the history of the medium. His work connected European photographic heritage with major international collections, placing rare and historically significant works with institutions including The Metropolitan Museum of Art, The National Gallery, London and the J. Paul Getty Museum.
From its inception, Photo London benefited from Hershkowitz’s presence and expertise. A regular exhibitor at the fair, he brought a level of historical depth that helped shape its intellectual and curatorial identity. His presentations were grounded in scholarship yet driven by a desire to share the visual and material qualities of early photography with new audiences.
Among his many contributions, The Essential Fenton at Photo London 2019 offered a focused examination of Roger Fenton’s work, reflecting a lifelong engagement with one of photography’s foundational figures. In 2024, his exhibition The Magic Art of French Calotype. Paper Negative Photography 1846–1860 stood as a culmination of his enduring interest in early photographic processes. Carefully structured around the relationship between paper negatives and their prints, the presentation demonstrated both the technical innovation and aesthetic ambition of the calotype, while foregrounding lesser-known practitioners alongside established names.
Hershkowitz’s approach was defined by close looking. He understood photography not only as an image but as an object, shaped by process, material and time. His work emphasised the importance of early photographic practices, from William Henry Fox Talbot to Gustave Le Gray, Charles Marville and P. H. Emerson, situating them within a broader history of visual culture. His writing and exhibitions consistently returned to the idea that photography teaches the eye to see, an understanding that informed both his dealing and his scholarship.
Within the context of Photo London, Hershkowitz played an important role in bridging past and present. His presentations offered audiences an encounter with the origins of the medium, not as distant history but as a living foundation for contemporary practice. In doing so, he contributed to the fair’s wider commitment to placing historical and contemporary photography in dialogue.
Robert Hershkowitz leaves behind a legacy that extends across collections, exhibitions and the wider field of photographic study. His work has had a lasting impact on how early photography is understood, collected and exhibited. At Photo London, he will be remembered for the clarity of his vision, the depth of his knowledge and his generous engagement with the medium he spent a lifetime exploring.
