Lotte Jacobi Biography

Lotte Jacobi (August 17, 1896 – May 6, 1990) was a German‑born American photographer renowned for her intimate portraiture and masterful use of light. Trained initially as a painter in Munich, she turned to photography in the 1920s, establishing a studio in Berlin where she captured artists, writers, and political figures with a distinctive psychological depth. Fleeing Nazi persecution in 1933, she settled in New York, where her work gained international acclaim and was exhibited in major museums. Throughout her long career Jacobi remained an independent creative force, exploring the complexities of human character and influencing generations of portrait photographers.