Background
Umbo, born Otto Maximilian Umbehr was born on January 18, 1902, in Düsseldorf, Nordrhein-Westfalen, Germany. He was the second of six children of industrial architect Karl Friedrich Umbehr. His mother Frieda died when he was a young boy.
Umbo, born Otto Maximilian Umbehr was born on January 18, 1902, in Düsseldorf, Nordrhein-Westfalen, Germany. He was the second of six children of industrial architect Karl Friedrich Umbehr. His mother Frieda died when he was a young boy.
Umbo studied at the Bauhaus in Weimar under Walter Gropius, Johannes Itten, Wassily Kandinsky, Paul Klee, Lionel Feininger and Oscar Schlemmer in the years 1921 to 1923.
Moving to Berlin in 1923, Umbo worked as a production assistant to filmmaker Kurt Bernhardt. Later he was a camera assistant to Walter Ruttmann (until 1926).
From 1928 on, his photographs appeared in many German publications, such as Berliner Illustrierte Zeitung, Münchner Illustrierte Presse, Uhu, Scherl’s Magazin, Dame, Neue Unie, Koralle, Es Kommt der Neue Fotograf, Foto-Auge, as well as the annuals of Arts et Métiers Graphiques.
Umbo took assignments in North Africa (1941) and in Italy (1942). From 1943 to 1945 he served in his country's army, during which time he lost all his photographs and negatives.
Umbo continued freelancing after the war, publishing in such journals as Picture Post, Quick, and Der Spiegel. He traveled to the United States in 1952 and, until 1974, taught photography at several schools in and around Hannover.
A founding member of Dephot, the first photo agency anywhere, Umbo served as its studio director from 1928 until 1933, when it was dissolved. During those five years, Dephot represented such photographers as Robert Capa, Felix H. Mann, Kurt Hutton, Andreas Feininger, and Hans Reinke.
Essentially a photojournalist, Umbo specialized in theater, dance, and film. He was a versatile photographer and used several cameras, especially the light and portable Ermanox and Leica.