Othmar Pferschy

Born in 1898 in Graz, Austria, Othmar Pferschy was introduced to photography while apprenticing with Anton Pöpperl in Vienna between 1923 and 1925, during a period when he was working in accounting. After gaining experience in several studios, he came to Istanbul as a tourist in 1926 and began working for Jean Weinberg, owner of the renowned Foto Français studio. In 1931, he opened his first studio in Beyoğlu and continued independently, though his activities were soon affected by legal restrictions placed on foreign photographers in Türkiye.

In 1935, Pferschy moved to Ankara, where he was appointed specialist photographer for La Turquie Kemalist, a magazine published under the leadership of Vedat Nedim Tör—then head of the Directorate General of Press—aimed at presenting the image of the young Turkish Republic to the world. He returned briefly to Austria in 1940 due to the Second World War, worked in Berlin in the postwar years, and returned to Istanbul in 1947 to open a new studio. His work permit remained restricted to Istanbul. He left Türkiye in 1969, leaving his archive behind. Pferschy passed away in 1984.

Recognized as one of the leading documentary photographers of the early Republican era, Pferschy photographed cities, architectural structures, and people with technical mastery and a distinct aesthetic sensibility. He documented Türkiye’s transforming landscape not only in major cities but also across Anatolia, ensuring—exactly as expected of him—that his work reached a broad public. His archive was donated to Istanbul Modern by his daughter Astrid in 2005.

The Othmar Pferschy Archive, held within the Photography Collection of Istanbul Modern, is being digitized and made publicly accessible through the collaboration between BEVFAM and the museum.