When Walde Huth married Karl Hugo Schmölz in 1956, resulting in one of the most successful photo ateliers in the Rhine region, she could already look back on a career as a portrait, theater and fashion photographer. After studying photography with Walter Hege in Weimar, one of the leading art and documentary photographers of his time she opened the „Künstlerische Lichtbildwerkstätte“ after the war at the age of 28. Walde Huth took pride in her highly skilled handcraft and her artistic ambition. Her concept of photography was to achieve „Lichtbilder” (Light paintings). Her photographs appear ethereal, translucent, and flooded with brightness in pastel coloring. An elegant Paris and Mediterranean Florence summoned the perfect backdrop for her modern photographs. Soon she was enjoying international attention for the fresh and spontaneous concept that was coming out of her studio. Released, unhinged from their domestic environment or festive society, with their sparse accessories, almost always seeking eye contact with the viewer, these models do not make amends for their vibrancy. Walde Huth’s models are doubtless more like attractive clothing racks and, as Huth herself wanted, aspiring actresses. The temperaments and character sketches of Huth’s photographs almost always deliver a kind lingering resonance.

Dr. Boris von Brauchitsch