Roh, Franz, 1890-1965

German art historian and pioneer critic of 20th century avant-garde, who took an interest in the study and development of photography as an art form. In addition, he served as faculty at a number of institutions, including the University of Munich. Roh studied and lived primarily in Munich.

Klinkhardt & Biermann, based in Berlin, was Roh's publisher.

Biographical/Historical Note

Franz Roh (1890-1965) was a noted art historian, photographer, and critic of the early twentieth-century avant-garde. He began his career working for Cicerone, Kunstblatt, and other journals publishing on art topics. In 1925, with the encouragement of Laszlo Moholy-Nagy, he published Nachexpressionismus-Magischer Realismus . Through this he gained prominence in the artistic circles of the avant-garde, which led to his co-publication of Foto-Auge with Jan Tschichold in 1929. The progressivism of his work led to Foto-Auge being sequestered and confiscated, and eventually led Roh to a brief imprisonment when he was forbidden to write by government censors in 1933. He was, however, awarded a professorship in modern art at the University of Munich in 1946, a position he held for the remainder of his life. He continued to promote contemporary art in the years after the war and became president of AICA (International Association of Art Critics) in 1951. He died in Munich in 1965.