Photography in Greece

History of Greek photography from its beginning to the present

The History of Greek photography began with travellers from Canada and Europe to Greece.

Pierre Gustave Joly de Lotbiniere (1798–1865, Canadian) and Joseph-Philibert Girault de Prangey (1804–1892, French) were among the examples of persons who came to Greece and took photographs of Greece (daguerreotypes) in 1830s or 1840s.

In 1840s, Philibert Perraud (1815-1863?), a French photographer, came to Greece and taught photography to Filippos Margaritis (Greek painter), who was said to be the first Greek photographer and who later opened the first Greek professional photo studio in 1853, in Athens.

In 1859, Greek photographer Petros Moraites opened his photo studio in Athens with Athanasios Kalfas. He took many portraits of many Greek people including the royal family and around 1870 became one of the most notable photographers in Greece at that time.

According to a guide book published in 1891, 27 photo studios existed in Greece.

• Filippos Margaritis (1839–1892, )
• Leonidas Papazoglou (1872–1918, Λεωνίδας Παπάζογλου)

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• Anastasios Gaziades (1853–1931, ) THE AMERICAN COLLEGE OF GREECE
• Panayotis Fatseas, Panayiotis Fatseas (1888–1938, Παναγιώτης Φατσέας) portraits 2008 exhibition at the Benaki Museum
• Nelly's, Elli Souyioultzoglou-Seraïdari (1889–1998, Έλλη Σουγιουλτζόγλου-Σεραϊδάρη)
• Nikolaos Tombazis (1894–1986, Νικόλαος Τομπάζης)
• Voula Papaioannou (1898–1990, Βούλα Παπαϊωάννου) documentary
• Pericles Papachatzidakis (1905–1990, Περικλής Παπαχατζιδάκης)
• Spyros Meletzis, Spiros Meletzis (1906–2003, Σπύρος Μελετζής)
• Dimitris Harissiadis (1911–1993, Δημήτρης Χαρισιάδης)
• Kostas Balafas (b. 1920–2011, Κώστας Μπαλάφας)

In 1952, the Greek Photographic Society (EFE) was founded and in 1956 the First Panhellenic Exhibition of Photographic Art in Athens was organized.

In order of year of birth

• Yiorgos Depollas (b. 1947, )
• John Stathatos (b. 1947, )
• Dimitris Yeros (b. 1948, )
• Nikos Economopoulos (b. 1953, Νίκος Οικονομόπουλος, Nikos Oikonomopoulos)
• Vassilis Makris (b. 1958, Βασίλης Μακρής)
• Ianna Andreadis (b. 1960, )
• Tzeli Hadjidimitriou (b. 1962, Jelly Hadjidimitriou, Τζέλη Χατζηδημητρίου)

• Pierre Gustave Joly de Lotbiniere (1798–1865, Canadian)
• Joseph-Philibert Girault de Prangey (1804–1892, French)
• Philibert Perraud (1815-1863?, French)
• Reverend George Wilson Bridges
• James Robertson (1813–1888)
• Francis Frith (1822–1898)
• Francis Bedford (1816–1894)
• Fred Boissonnas (1858–1946, Swiss photographer)
• Albert Meyer
• Alfred-Nicolas Normand
• Underwood & Underwood

• Alkis Xanthakis, History of Greek Photography, 1839-1960 (English translation by J. Solman & G. Cox), Hellenic literary & Historical Archives Society, Athens 1988 (ISBN 978-9602010648)
• Kostas Ioannidis, Contemporary Greek Photography:A Century in Thirty Years, Athens, Futura, 2008 KAPUT Art magazine
• Athens 1839–1900: Photographic Testimonies (Athens, 1985)
• Athens 1839–1900: Photographic Record (Athens, Benaki Museum, 2003)
• Das Land der Griechen mit der Seele Suchen (Cologne, 1990)
• John Stathatos, The Invention of Landscape: Greek Landscape and Greek Photography, 1870–1995 (Thessaloniki, 1996)
• John Stathatos, Image and Icon: The New Greek Photography 1975–1995 (1997).
• Alkis X. Xanthakis, History of Greek Photography 1839-1970 2008 Papyros Publishing Company, Athens [Greek]
• Aspects de la Photographie Hellénique (Nice, Ministère de la Culture Hellénique, Mairie de Nice, 1998)
• Fani Constantinou, Photography by James Robertson 'Athens and the Grecian Antiquities' 1853-1854 from the Photographic Archive of the Benaki Museum, Athens, Benaki Museum, 1998
• Alkis Xanthakis, Filippos Margaritis The First Greek Photographer, Athens: Photographos, 1900 [Greek]
• Alkis Xanthakis, Nineteenth Century Greece through the lens of Petros Moraitis, Athens, Potamos, 2001 [Greek]
• Haris Yiakoumis, La Grè ce Photographique et Littèraire au XIXe siècle. Athens, Bastas-Plessas, 1997
• Haris Yiakoumis, The Acropolis of Athens, Photographs 1839–1959, Athens, Potamos, 2000

• List of Greek photographers
• History of photography
• List of photographers
• History of Japanese photography

• Benaki Museum Photographic Archives
• Thessaloniki Museum of Photography
• John Stathatos: Texts on Greek photography