Tue, 14.4.2026
7 PM
7 PM
Opening
MAK – Museum of Applied Arts
© Archiv Barbara Pflaum
Previous Image
Barbara Pflaum (1912–2002) was one of the few women who worked as photojournalists for pictorial magazines in the 1950s.
15.4.2026—16.8.2026
MAK Works on Paper Room
Men dominated this profession in the first two postwar decades, while women in Europe and the United States returned to domestic life. This was not the case for Pflaum, who came across photography at the University of Applied Arts Vienna, where she had taken up studies as a 40-year-old divorcée with three children.
Her photographs garnered the attention of several people. In 1954 she published her first reports—about Venice and about an experimental school in Sweden—in the Wiener Illustrierte newspaper. A short time later, she was hired as a photographer for the Wochenpresse weekly, where she worked for over 20 years. She and her classic Rolleiflex medium format camera could be found at most theater and opera openings, vernissages, and most of all at political events.
Her photographs garnered the attention of several people. In 1954 she published her first reports—about Venice and about an experimental school in Sweden—in the Wiener Illustrierte newspaper. A short time later, she was hired as a photographer for the Wochenpresse weekly, where she worked for over 20 years. She and her classic Rolleiflex medium format camera could be found at most theater and opera openings, vernissages, and most of all at political events.
© Archiv Barbara Pflaum
Previous Image
Her portraits of heads of state, party leaders, and famous artists often adorned the cover pages of the weekly magazine. As the proud photographer of these images, she showed them in exhibitions throughout her life. The presentation at the MAK will show a different, less well-known side of her work—one that nowadays especially has the capacity to delight.
Between vernissages, conferences, and premieres, Barbara Pflaum tirelessly roamed the streets of Vienna and observed its inhabitants. Situational photographs and masterful portraits not only bring to light her extraordinary powers of observation, her sense of humor, and her phenomenal flair for form, but also reveal an encompassing social sensibility. Taken for herself, in passing—these photographs are the subject of the exhibition.
Some found their way into a Vienna photo book published by Pflaum in 1961, but many have never been released. The images show the city’s inhabitants going about their daily lives, as well as street protests, condemned neighborhoods, and scenes from the annual Christmas markets.
Guest Curator: Karolina Ziębińska-Lewandowska
Between vernissages, conferences, and premieres, Barbara Pflaum tirelessly roamed the streets of Vienna and observed its inhabitants. Situational photographs and masterful portraits not only bring to light her extraordinary powers of observation, her sense of humor, and her phenomenal flair for form, but also reveal an encompassing social sensibility. Taken for herself, in passing—these photographs are the subject of the exhibition.
Some found their way into a Vienna photo book published by Pflaum in 1961, but many have never been released. The images show the city’s inhabitants going about their daily lives, as well as street protests, condemned neighborhoods, and scenes from the annual Christmas markets.
Guest Curator: Karolina Ziębińska-Lewandowska