Teske, Edmund, 1911-1996

American photographer.

Edmund Teske (1911-1996) was a photographer from Los Angeles, Calif.

Edmund Teske, b. 1911; d. 1996 Nov. 15 in Los Angeles, Calif., Photographer of Los Angeles, Calif.

Edmund Teske was an American photographer, poet and teacher who came to prominence with the success of his work photographing the Taliesin Fellowship of Frank Lloyd Wright in the 1930s and 1940s. Born in Chicago in 1911, Teske studied art, acting and set design, and was primarily a self-taught photographer. He taught briefly at the New Bauhaus School of Design and was also employed for a time with Paul Strand's and Leo Hurwitz's anti-fascist company, Frontier Films. Teske moved to Los Angeles in 1943, where he initially worked as a still photographer for Paramount Pictures, and later began teaching at Chouinard Art Institute of Los Angeles (now the California Institute for the Arts) and other institutions. His work was exhibited widely at institutions including the Museum of Modern Art in New York, the Art Institute of Chicago, the Pasadena Art Museum, the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, and the Ceeje Gallery in Los Angeles. In the 1970s and 1980s he was renown for his "Photo-Grabs," or informal auctions of his work in his studio presented to associates, friends, and former students. Among his many friends and associates in the art world were Aline Barnsdall, Minor White, Aaron Siskind and George Herms.

Photographer (Los Angeles, Calif.)

Teske died on 15 November 1996 in Los Angeles, CA.

Biographical/ Historical Note

Edmund Teske was an American photographer, poet and teacher who gained prominence through his work photographing the Taliesin Fellowship of Frank Lloyd Wright in the 1930s and 1940s. Born in Chicago in 1911, Teske studied art, acting and set design. A primarily self-taught photographer, he had his first formal photography exhibition at the Blackstone Theatre, Chicago, in 1933. While employed at a commercial photography studio in Chicago, he was exposed to the work of a number of prominent contemporary photographers and artists, including Edward Weston, Edward Steichen, Alfred Stieglitz, Anton Bruehl, Man Ray, and Georgia O'Keeffe.

In 1936 Teske visited Frank Lloyd Wright's Taliesin workshop in Spring Green, Wisconsin, and was invited to become a member of the Fellowship. While there, he set up his first photographic studio and was instrumental in chronicling some of Wright's early buildings. Teske taught briefly at the New Bauhaus School of Design in Chicago, and also worked for a time with Paul Strand and Leo Hurwitz's anti-fascist company, Frontier Films. During World War II, Teske performed aerial mapping for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. In 1943 he traveled to Frank Lloyd Wright's Taliesin West Studio in Scottsdale, Arizona, once more photographing the Fellowship.

Teske moved to Los Angeles in 1943, where he initially worked as a still photographer for Paramount Pictures. He became a close friend and assistant to Aline Barnsdall, for whom Frank Lloyd Wright had completed three structures including Olive Hill Studio Residence B where Teske lived. In 1949, after Residence B was slated for demolition, Teske moved to Topanga Canyon. Among his friends and associates were Minor White, Aaron Siskind, George Herms, sculptor Tony Smith and his actress wife Jane Lawrence, and Richard DeMille, son of movie director Cecil B. DeMille.

In 1958 Teske developed the technique of duotone solarization, a method that reversed highlight and shadow, which became characteristic of much of his work. Teske's work has been exhibited widely at institutions including the Museum of Modern Art in New York, the Art Institute of Chicago, the Pasadena Art Museum, the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, and the Ceeje Gallery in Los Angeles. He taught at the Chouinard Art Institute of Los Angeles (now the California Institute for the Arts) and other institutions. In the 1970s and 1980s Teske also became known for his "photo-grabs," which were informal auctions of his work in his studio to friends, associates and former students. Teske died in 1996.