The subject of this portrait, Karl Richter, was the publisher of the Dortmund newspaper, General-Anzeiger. The portrait is one of two that August Sander made of the important publisher. Under Richter, General-Anzeiger became the largest daily newspaper in Germany outside of Berlin. Taken in 1925 during the Weimar republic’s Goldene Zwanziger (Golden Twenties), a period of cultural, artistic and economic boom, this image is part of Sander’s monumental archival project, Citizens of the Twentieth Century. Sander’s precise, objective and exhaustive style of documentation would go on to influence future generations of photographers, from Bernd and Hilla Becher to Diane Arbus.

The present print, made at the time of the negative, is mounted, signed and retains its original vellum overmat. In general, prints from before World War II are exceptionally rare. It is known that window mats of this type were not used by the artist after the War.

Sander’s early experience with photography dates back to his time as a photographer’s assistant in the military from 1897-1899. The following decade Sander set up his own studio and in the 1910s embarked on his first major project, Antlitz der Zeit [Face of the Time] a compendium of sixty photographs that served as an objective and neutral depiction of the people in his native Westerwald, near Cologne. Published in 1929, the project served as the foundation for Menschen des 20. Jahrhunderts [Citizens of the Twentieth Century], the ambitious typological survey of the German population (‘physiognomy of people,’ as he called it) capturing six-hundred subjects who were subsequently divided into seven distinct groups, or types. Zeitungsverleger Karl Richter was among the portraits who comprised the fourth group, ‘Occupations’, under the subgroup ‘Businessmen’.

Sander was careful and clear in his intention to show each of his subjects genuinely, stating, 'We can tell from appearance the work someone does or does not do; we can read in his face whether he is happy or troubled.' In the present portrait, Richter casually, but confidently, carries a newspaper in one arm. His fine garb and powerful stature showcases his success and his dedication to his profession. The peaceful, outdoor setting contributes to these sense of ease that Richter emanates, and is a notable choice considering many of the businessmen that Sander photographed were posed indoors, at their desks or in their offices.