Exhibition archive
Norwich Works: The Industrial Photography of Walter and Rita Nurnberg
- 21 October 2023 - 14 April 2024
- Norwich Castle Museum and Art Gallery, Norwich
- Supported by EAAF - if you're not a member and would like to attend this event Join Now.
Between 1948 and 1961, German-born husband and wife Walter and Rita Nurnberg photographed the factories of Norwich and their workers.
These stunning photographs, which owe as much to Rita’s skillful processing as they do to Walter’s original compositions, go beyond the documenting of industry. Meticulously choreographed images of the factories are infused with the high modernism of the Bauhaus, whilst striking portraits of workers lean into the glamour and beauty of cinema’s golden age; from the time-worn faces of the master artisan to the teenage apprentices shining with enthusiasm, the Nurnbergs’ photographs are both local history and enduring works of art.
Marking the 70th anniversary of their pioneering exhibition at Norwich Castle in 1953, the exhibition showcases the Nurnbergs’ distinctive and influential photographic practice, focusing on the extraordinary visual record they created of Norwich striving to rebuild itself economically after the Second World War. It includes over 130 original photographic prints representing three key Norwich industries: shoe-making at Edwards and Holmes’ Esdelle Works; steel construction, woodworking, and wire netting at Boulton & Paul’s Riverside Works; and sweet-making at Caley-Mackintosh’s Chapelfield Works. The photos are displayed alongside objects from our own collections relating to the city’s industrial past and newly digitised archive film.
- Drilling pilot holes
- Walter & Rita Nurnberg
- Gelatin silver print, 1947-8
- © Norfolk Record Office
