Biography

Wols, born in 1913, began his career as a photographer.  He took the name Wols from a torn fragment of a telegram he had received in order to assist his career within the world of French avant-garde photography.  His real name is Alfred Otto Wolfgang Schulze. 

The Influences

At the age of 23 he had a one man exhibit at the Galerie de la Pleiade, one of the key Paris venues for contemporary photography.  His new status as a recognized photographer was confirmed in the same year when he was contracted to photograph the fashion pavilion at the Paris International Exhibition.

As a photographer, Wols was the master of the close-up, frequently composing his subjects with an  unexpected focus, destroying constructive consistency and dislocating expectations.  However his career came to an end because of the war.

Wols's photographs and drawings of the 1930s show the influence of Surrealism.

Wols died in 1951 from food poisoning.