Dora Kallmus: Portrait Photography of the Austrian Female Fashion Photographer from the 1900s

Dora Kallmus was a leading fashion and portrait photographer from Austria. She was interested in photography from her early age, and in 1905 she became the first woman accepted by the Association of Austrian photographers. While completing an apprenticeship with Berlin-based portraitist Nicola Perscheid, she met her future assistant and long-time collaborator Arthur Benda. In 1907, she established her studio with Arthur Benda in Vienna called the Atelier d’Ora or Madame D’Ora-Benda.

Dora photographed some of the famous personalities, including Josephine Baker, Colette, Gustav Klimt, Tamara de Lempicka, and Pablo Picasso. Alongside these commissions, she also photographed members of the Habsburg family and Viennese aristocracy, the Rothschild family, and other prominent cultural figures and politicians.

When the German forces seized control of Paris in World War II, she was forced to close her studio and flee. She spent the war years in a semi-underground existence living in Ardèche in the southeast of France.

Take a look at these stunning portraits captured by Dora Kallmus from the early 20th century.

#1 Gustav Klimt, 1907

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#2 Alban Berg, 1909

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#3 Emilie Flöge, 1909

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#4 Helene Jamrich with a hat from Zwieback, designed by Rudolf Krieser, 1909

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#5 Anna Pavlova, circa 1910s

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#6 Mileva Roller, 1910

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#7 Anna Pavlova, 1913

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#8 In the Zwieback Fashion House, 1913

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#9 Countess von Haugwitz-Széchényi, Countess Khevenhüller-Fürstenberg and Countess Marie Choloniewska serving in the Red Cross during the First World War, 1914

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#10 Archduke Karl and Archduchess Zita with their children Otto and Adelheid, 1915

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#11 Arthur Schnitzler, 1915

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#12 Alma Mahler, 1916

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#13 Bella Paalen, 1916

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#14 Anita Berber, 1920

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#15 Anita Berber, 1920

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#16 Jeanne Renouard, 1920s

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#17 Lili Damita, 1920s

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#18 Lilly Flohr, 1920s

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#19 Madeleine Renaud, 1920s

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#20 Magda Sonja, 1920s

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#21 Maria Corda, 1920s

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#22 Rita Georg, 1920s

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#23 Sisters G, 1920s

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#24 Vera Voronina, 1920s

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#25 Coco Chanel, 1923

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#26 Lucy Doraine, 1925

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#27 Barbette, 1926

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#28 Marlene Dietrich, 1927

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#29 Maurice Chevalier, 1927

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#30 Eric Barclay, circa 1928

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#31 Miss Florence, 1928

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#32 Charlotte Ander, 1929

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#33 Self-portrait of the photographer d’Ora, 1929

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#34 Harald Paulsen, 1930

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#35 Imperio Argentina, 1930s

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#36 Leila Bederkhan, 1930

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#37 Oskar Kokoschka in Paris, circa 1930

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#38 Tania Mirova, 1932

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#39 Tamara de Lempicka with a hat of Rose Descat, 1933

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#40 Madame Agnès with a hat made of velvet with transparent brim, 1936

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