Pioneers: Photography by Women

Never-before-published images by 42 female photographers from Lotte Jacobi to Susan Meiselas

Women have been professional photographers since the inception of the medium, yet their work has received far less attention than that of their male colleagues. From the more than 15 million photographs stored in the Dutch National Archives in The Hague, the editors of Pioneers: Photography by Women selected a compilation of more than 200 images by 42 female photographers created between 1859 and 1999. It highlights well-known photographers in the Netherlands and abroad, such as Margaret Bourke-White and Eve Arnold, while also spotlighting under-recognized artists creating profound work. Whether through composition, technique or subject matter, their innovations paved the way for future generations of photographers.
Photographers include: Laure Albin-Guillot, Emmy Andriesse, Eve Arnold, Ilse Bing, Diana Blok, Margaret Bourke-White, Marianne Breslauer, Hester Carsten, Dickey Chapelle, Violette Cornelius, Augusta Curiel, Françoise Demulder, Maria Fialho, Gisèle Freund, Elisabeth Hase, Florence Henri, Abigail Heyman, Lotte Jacobi, Ata Kandó, Marion Kaplan, Germaine Krull, Catherine Leroy, Mary Ellen Mark, Susan Meiselas.