January 17, 1911

Israëlis Bidermanas (January 17, 1911 to May 16, 1980), or Izis as he was known professionally for his photography, was Jewish, Lithuanian, and by 1930, a part of Parisian life. He fled when the Nazis invaded France but was caught near the border. The French resistance rescued Bidermanas from the Nazis. Although his post war fame is based on his photographs of Paris, these next notes sketch another subject: London.

... Israel Bidermanas .... first achieved recognition under the identity of Izis for his portraits of members of the French resistance that he took while in hiding near Limoges at the time of the German invasion. Encouraged by Brassai, he pursued a career as a professional photographer in peacetime, fulfilling commissions for Paris Match and befriending Jacques Prévert and Marc Chagall. He and Prévert were inveterate urban wanderers and in 1952 they published ‘Charmes de Londres,’ delivering this vivid and poetic vision of the shabby old capital in the threadbare post-war years.
I invite you to go to spitalfieldslife.com and see some of the photos. Meanwhile, here is one, a sphinx in Chiswick Park.







The photographs of Bidermanas show what genius in photography looks like.