Annemarie Heinrich captured Argentina’s stars in portraiture
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In 1938, Annemarie Heinrich photographed Eva Duarte in Argentina, unknowingly capturing the future icon Evita Perón. Heinrich, a German immigrant who arrived in Argentina in 1926, built a career as a professional photographer, initially trading and re-purchasing cameras to fund her work.
She trained alongside other European women photographers and quickly gained prominence photographing Argentina’s film and radio stars during the golden age of the 1940s and 50s.
Heinrich’s studio, located near the Colón Theater and El Mundo radio station, became a destination for actors seeking portraits in a Hollywood style. She photographed numerous cultural figures including Mercedes Sosa, Jorge Luis Borges, Pablo Neruda, and Marcel Marceau, and her work extended beyond entertainment to include artistic and experimental photography. Her photographs now feature in museums across the world, including the Museum of Modern Art and the Metropolitan Museum of Art in the United States.
Today, Heinrich’s vast archive, containing 130,000 negatives and other materials, remains a source of artistic exhibitions and research. Her family is currently reprinting her 1962 book, “Ballet in Argentina”, using original negatives and previously unpublished text. They are also working to preserve the archive, hoping to draw attention to the precarious state of many similar collections in Argentina. A new documentary, “Annemarie”, explores her life and work through interviews and archival footage.
