When akg-images London was formed in 1994, we were proud to represent Erich Lessing. The renowned Lessing Photo Archive is still at the heart of our collection, which now totals more than 10 million images. Erich Lessing’s incomparable and important body of work authentically documents both fine art and the history of culture and civilisation. It remains relevant today due to his high standards of photography and the knowledge and experience which informed each of his shoots.

Jonnie Léger
Managing Director

akg-images Ltd | UK

Erich Lessing, a great figure in Photojournalism, has focused his lens on every kind of event, great or small, since the second World War. His photographs of the Hungarian Revolution were seen around the world. Less well known but just as remarkable are the photos he took in Poland in the 1950s. Erich studies power, whether religious or secular, and notes its effects both on those who exercise it and those who are subject to it: 'I take humanity seriously, in all its aspirations and desires, as well as in everything that can follow whether in religion or spirituality, art or politic. This was, and still is today, the starting point for all my photography subjects...' In parallel with his life as a photojournalist, Erich has devoted himself all his life to history,via museum, churches, landscapes... 'This type of photography is not art' he says, 'but it does throw light on art'.

Bruno Barbey
Membre de l’Institut Académie des Beaux-Arts

Magnum Photos International, Inc | FRANCE

The Lessing Archive is unique in that it not only offers the most authentic images of fine art, but is the resource for the photographic documents of sculpture, pottery and other relics of the history of civilization.

Robert L. Kirschenbaum
President

PPS Pacific Press Service | JAPAN

Was macht das fotografische Lebenswerk von Erich Lessing so einzigartig? Es ist die unvergleichliche Qualität der Aufnahmen gepaart mit der herausragenden Expertise bei der Auswahl der Objekte, die nur eine Persönlichkeit leisten konnte, die all dies auch gelebt hat. Hinter allen Aufnahmen steht der Mensch Erich Lessing, der unzählige Länder bereist, die wichtigsten Werke und Orte festgehalten und damit einen Kanon der europäischen Kultur hinterlassen hat.

Jürgen Raible
Archiv- und Personalleiter

akg-images gmbh | GERMANY

Since 1992 Art Resource, NY has been the exclusive North American agent for fine art images from the Erich Lessing Culture and Fine Arts Archives (now the Lessing Photo Archive/Images. Our longstanding and successful collaboration with Erich went beyond professional contacts extending into a personal friendship that has lasted until his passing in 2018. His keen eye, knowledge of history and politics, and his self-effacing humor will endure through his impressive body of outstanding photographs.

Gerhard Gruitrooy, Ph.D.
Director of Research

Art Ressource Inc. | USA

Album is a photo agency founded in 1993 and based in Barcelona. Since its foundation, Album has distributed the prestigious Erich Lessing collection, being one of its most important assets. Album is offering more than 4 million culture-related images online including entertainment, fine art, history, music, religion, archaeology, literature, medicine science travel and nature, becoming a leading source of this content worldwide.

Sergi Griño
Director

ALBUM Archivo fotográfico, SL | SPAIN

We are proud of our longstanding cooperation with Lessing Images, which gives us the opportunity to represent in Italy the work of a great figure who belongs to the history of photography.

Silvia Prina
Desk

CONTRASTO - Agenzia Fotogiornalistica Srl. | ITALY