Steidlville

Ed van der Elsken

Ed van der Elsken (1925–1990), the “enfant terrible” of Dutch photography, was a talented photographer and filmmaker who expressed his meetings with people in photos, photo books and films for more than 40 years. Strolling through cities such as Paris, Tokyo, Hong Kong and Amsterdam or travelling through Africa and Japan, he preferably took photographs of striking individuals with character. His first photo book Love on the Left Bank was published in 1956, which instantly made him world-famous. Some 20 photobooks followed. He also made several television films, mostly about subjects regarding his own life.