Dorothy and Louis Bohm – Six Things That Make For Human Happiness

The exhibition at the Hilary Majewski’s House is the first exhibition in Poland of the work of one of the most outstanding photographers of the 20th century, Dorothy Bohm, and tells the story of the life of the family of Louis Bohm, entrepreneur and husband of the artist, who came from Łódź.

Dorothy Bohm was not only one of the first women to use photography as an art medium, but also, as co-founder of The Photographers’ Gallery in London, she played a fundamental role in the development of important institutions for the medium. Bohm’s colour and black and white photographs belong to the humanist trend represented by Henri Cartier-Bresson or Andre Kertesz. The focus on the everyday, the careful observation of the surrounding world and the placement of the human being at the centre of the composition give Bohm’s work a universal and timeless dimension. Dorothy Bohm’s photographs form the main narrative of the exhibition, which is complemented by archival materials, films, objects, and letters related to Louis Bohm and his history in Łódź

Found after Dorothy Bohm’s death in 2023, the family treasures that survived the war and the Holocaust are exhibited in a selection prepared in collaboration with the artist’s daughter Monika Bohm-Duchen.

/ Exhibition under the honorary patronage of the Lithuanian Consul in Lodz, prepared in cooperation with Kaunas Photo Gallery and Dorothy Bohm Estate.

/ Curator: Adam Mazur

/ Curatorial collaboration: Monica Bohm–Duchen

/ Special thanks: Gintaras Česonis, Caren Garfen

/ Producer: Magda Milewska

/ Assistant producer: Serhji Sokurenko

/ Communication: Kinga Stec, Maja Wójcik

The tenement of Hilary Majewski, Włókiennicza 11

DID YOU KNOW that Włókiennicza (Textile Street) was once named Kamienna (Stone Street)?

Hilary Majewski’s tenement house at Włókiennicza 11 was built between 1883 and 1886. It was designed by Hilary Majewski, the leading architect of Łódź at the time of the city’s most remarkable development. He designed, among others, the factory empire of Izrael Poznański, today’s Manufaktura, along with the grand palace (the first design of the building), but also the palace of Juliusz Heinzl at Piotrkowska 104, the House of the Credit Society at Pomorska 21, Piotrkowska 77, and many more.

The tenement house at Włókiennicza Street was a residential and office building. In Majewski’s time, the street was called Kamienna (Stone Street). Laid out around 1880 and paved with fieldstones, it was a beautiful street back then, with lavishly decorated houses along its sides. Of course, the city’s greatest architect would not build his home in the middle of nowhere! That part of the city was also very Jewish, with as many as seven synagogues. The street was renamed to Włókiennicza (Textile Street) in 1957. Old, unrenovated houses lost most of their splendour and the whole area turned ugly, or even somewhat slum. However, in 2022, the street’s revitalisation project was completed. Make sure to check it out – each house is different, with its own character.