Overview
Frank Hofmann (1916-1989) arrived in New Zealand in 1940 as a refugee from Czechoslovakia. He was a member of the Prague Photographic Society and his work was highly influenced by the values of European modernist photography. This approach favoured striking and unusual angles, visual ambiguities, precision, and an interest in the industrial nature of modernity.
Hofmann worked for the leading Auckland studio of Clifton Firth from 1941 to 1947. Firth was a mentor to Hofmann and introduced him to the Auckland arts community, many of whose members became the subject of his photographs. These were his most creatively productive years. He also became a leading light in the Auckland Camera Club, and in turn influenced many of the more advanced younger members, such as Steve Rumsey.