BERLIN.- In conjunction with Berliner Sparkasse and Sparkasse KölnBonn, the Sparkassen Kulturfonds of the German Savings Banks Association (Deutscher Sparkassen- und Giroverband - DSGV) is supporting the exhibition “Walker Evans. A Life’s Work”, which is being mounted by the Photographic Collection/SK Cultural Foundation of Cologne/Bonn Savings Bank from 25th July 2014 to 9th November 2014 in the Martin-Gropius-Bau in Berlin. The exhibition is a retrospective examination of the entire oeuvre of the American photographer Walker Evans, who is regarded as one of the leading figures in the history of 20th century photography.

“Photography exercises a fascination on people. It appeals to their emotions, brings them together and communicates in a special way – and is an important medium for understanding each other. For many years now, the cultural involvement of the Savings Banks Finance Group has focused in particular on art photography. That is why we support an exhibition by an artist who made such an important contribution towards establishing photography as an independent form of artistic expression,” commented Georg Fahrenschon, President of the DSGV.

Walker Evans (1903 – 1975) is widely regarded as having been one of the most influential American photographers. Amongst other things he created photographs from the mid-1930s onwards for Fortune Magazine and the Farm Security Administration (FSA), which developed aid projects as part of Roosevelt’s New Deal. It was during this period of the Great Depression in the USA that he produced some of his best-known pictures. The exhibition will display well over 200 original prints dating from 1928 to 1974, including some iconic images as well as rarely-exhibited photographs from his fifty years of work. More than anyone else, Evans was able to capture people in everyday situations without the need for artistic staging. His works strongly influenced the “documentary style” of photography.