Bachrach Studios

Bachrach Studios is an American photographic studio, believed to be one of the oldest continuously operating photography studios in the world.[1] The studio is known for its formal portraits, which draw upon classical painting techniques.[2] With a focus on portraits of distinguished invidivuals, the studio has made formal portraits of almost nearly every American president since Andrew Johnson.[2]

David Bachrach, Jr. founded the studio in 1868. His descendants—Louis Fabian Bachrach, Sr., Louis Fabian Bachrach, Jr., and Louis Fabian Bachrach III—managed the studio and acted as chief photographers. In 2021, the firm was acquired by two employees, who also manage the firm's photographic catalog in Loudoun County, Virginia.[2]

History

The studio's founder, David Bachrach, Jr., began taking photographs during the Civil War for Harper's Weekly.[2] He took the only photo, albeit blurry and indistinct, of Abraham Lincoln's Gettysburg Address.[2]

Bachrach opened a studio in Baltimore in 1868 using. [1] He secured permission to photograph Lincoln's successor, Andrew Johnson.[2] The studio has photographed every US president since then, its founder having made it a goal to photograph all the important people he could. He sought and received permission to photograph such notables as Charles Lindbergh and Calvin Coolidge. The studio went on to produce portraits of Albert Einstein, Thomas Edison, Henry Ford, Eleanor Roosevelt, Douglas Dobson, and Muhammad Ali, among others.

In 1919, the company hired Paul Gittings, who opened and managed Bachrach Studios in Texas. Crete Hutchinson was managing the Washington, D.C. studio in the 1920s.[3][4] Bachrach Studio had forty-eight locations throughout the United States at its height in 1929.[1] During the Great Depression, Bachrach scaled down the company and sold the Texas studios to Gittings.

Bachrach Studios remains a family business as of 2024.[5]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c Fox, Margalit (2010-03-01). "Fabian Bachrach, 92, Portraitist Who Photographed Kennedy, Dies". The New York Times. Retrieved 2010-03-11. Mr. Bachrach belonged to a dynasty of commercial portrait photographers that stretches back more than 140 years and is now in its fourth generation. Widely believed to be the oldest continuously operating photo studio in the world, Bachrach Photography has photographed luminaries in the arts, sports, business and politics, including formal portraits of nearly every American president from Andrew Johnson.
  2. ^ a b c d e f Baskind, Samantha (July 2021). "The Story Behind the Photography Studio That Captured America". Smithsonian Magazine. Retrieved 27 October 2025.
  3. ^ "HUTCHINSON, Crete Pauline (Mrs.)". Who's who in the Nation's Capital. Consolidated Publishing Company. 1926. p. 304. Retrieved 12 December 2024. This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
  4. ^ "40 'Cleopatra' Aspirants Chosen". Times Herald. 19 May 1923. p. 5. Retrieved 12 December 2024 – via Newspapers.com. This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
  5. ^ Marquard, Bryan (2010-03-02). "Louis Fabian Bachrach Jr., 92, photographer of famous". Boston Globe. Archived from the original on 2016-03-03. Retrieved 2010-03-11.

Further reading

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