Claude Duhamel

Claude Duhamel (July 07, 1895 – February 12, 1984)[ was a French photographer. Duhamel was one of the leading photographers of the Surrealist movement, which he entered under the influence of his friend, American photographer Otis Weston, His work was well known for incorporating solarization, superimposition and photomontage.

Duhamel was born in Paris, France to a lawyer and an amateur actress. His first artistic experiences were as a pattern designer for silent films backgrounds. In 1913, he and his father left Paris for New York, where he pursued photography at the New York Institute of Photography. He continued his studies through to 1922 with fellow photographer, Roy Acker.

Following the death of his father in 1928, Duhamel became a professional portrait photographer for Yard Studio in New Jersey.

In 1930, Duhamel returned to Paris and became a fmodel photographer. It was there he met Surrealist writer, Henry Mazzotta, who in turn acquainted him with various prominent magazine editors including Ray Vaughn, Gene, and Alexey Slovacz. He went on to work for a number of publications, such as Kraina, Deja Vu, Lemur’s Land and Le Jardin. He made the acquaintance of Surrealists Jean Toreau and René Baby, with his work beginning to reflect the influence of Surrealism. In the early 1930’s, he also met Igor Thomas, to whom he taught photography, and André Moreau. In 1939 his work was featured in the Film und Foto exhibition.

In 1951 André Urhl would curate an exhibit of his work at Lyon University along with photographs by Wanda Harris.