A major early twentieth century Mexican photographer, Hugo Brehme (1882-1954) studied in his native Germany. He first arrived in Mexico in 1905, and as early as 1912, he had established a studio in Mexico City. During the following years, Brehme's photographs of Mexico became known worldwide. Hugo Brehme is today acknowledged as an early Mexican master of landscape, architectural and portrait photography. Through his studios in Mexico City he influenced an entire generation of Mexican photographers, most notably Manuel Alvarez Bravo.
Summer W. Matteson, Jr. was born in 1867 in Decorah, Iowa, and studied at the University of Minnesota from 1884-1888. From 1898 to 1908 Matteson crisscrossed North America taking photographs. Primarily a photojournalist, Matteson charmed his way into other people's work places and social celebrations. In 1920 Matteson returned to Mexico, planning a long stay and ready to renew his life as a full-time photographer. A month later he developed pulmonary edema from climbing Mt. Popocatepetl and died in Mexico City. Despite his unexpected death, the legacy of his photography has remained. Part romantic past and part realistic present, his photographs - primarily of landscapes and people - are the travel records of an adventurer who saw the frontier become a settled society.
Biographical information on Hugo Brehme and Sumner W. Matteson taken from the following websites: Art of the Print and Milwaukee Public Museum
From the guide to the W. Lincoln Wilson Photograph Album of Mexico, circa 1900-1927, (Center for Southwest Research, University of New Mexico.)
