Florence Henri began exploring the innovative possibilities of experimental photography in 1927 while studying under Josef Albers and László Moholy-Nagy at the Bauhaus, a hub for modernist ideas and interdisciplinary experimentation. Prior to her engagement with photography, Henri trained as a musician and later studied painting in Paris under Fernand Léger, whose teachings in Cubism and abstraction greatly influenced her artistic development.

Transitioning to photography, Henri embraced the avant-garde “New Vision” movement, pushing the boundaries of the medium with bold experiments in perspective, mirrors, prisms, photomontage, multiple exposures, and photograms. Her work, deeply rooted in the aesthetics of Surrealism, Cubism, and Constructivism, captured the attention of contemporary critics and audiences. It was prominently featured in numerous exhibitions and publications during the late 1920s and early 1930s, including the groundbreaking Film und Foto and Photographie der Gegenwart exhibitions in 1929.

Henri is perhaps best known for her portraits and still-lifes, where she artfully used mirrors and reflections to challenge the viewer’s perception of reality and illusion. These compositions not only blurred the line between the tangible and the reflected but also demonstrated her mastery of spatial relationships and formal precision.

After completing her studies, Henri established a photography studio in Paris, where she undertook commissions for portraits, advertising campaigns, and fashion photography, contributing to esteemed publications like Vogue and The New York Herald. In addition to her commercial work, Henri nurtured the next generation of photographers, teaching in Paris until 1963, when she shifted her creative focus back to abstract painting.

In 1990, the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art celebrated her enduring legacy with a retrospective exhibition, reaffirming Henri’s place as a trailblazer in modernist photography and a key figure in the evolution of visual art during the 20th century.