The Leitzachtal Photo Edition

by Christopher Thomas and Gerhard Polt

There is no stopping him! On his feet long before everyone else begins their day, Christopher Thomas is off early to catch the magnificent first daylight, special atmospheres or especially beautiful clouds. With his beloved Linhof monorail camera and old Polaroid 55 films he turns every Photo into a restrained black, white and brown coloured piece of art. During 2012 his Leitzach Valley series grew along with the aim of showing his homeland freed of the usual bright-coloured Alpenkitsch. Printed on finest hand made paper his photographs become even more powerfull and weighty. We are proud to call the Leitzachtal series ours, and take great delight in seeing them every day in the Alte Tann halls and the lounge.

Born and raised in the Leitzachtal,  Gerhart Polt is a widely known writer, filmmaker, actor and satirical cabaret artist – his comments below the photographs make it a special treat for native speakers – and thinkers.

The works are for sale in three sizes – please contact Thomas' trustee  Ira Stehmann. For a great pleasure of even smaller a size order the postcard edition here for 20 Euros plus shipping. An elegant box makes it a beautiful little gift or souvenir treat for yourself.

Vita Christopher Thomas

Christopher Thomas, born in 1961 in Munich and a graduate from the Bayerische Staatslehranstalt für Fotografie, has received a number of international awards as a commercial photographer. His photo reportages have appeared in magazines such as Geo, Süddeutsche Zeitung Magazin, Stern and Merian.

As an artist, Christopher Thomas has established a reputation above all through his city portraits. The first of his cityscapes was Munich Elegies which was exhibited at the Museum of Photography in Munich in 2005 (published by Schirmer/Mosel, 2005). This was followed by the series New York Sleeps that he worked on between 2001 and 2009. The companion publication, New York Sleeps. Photographs by Christopher Thomas, was published by Prestel in 2009 (6th edition 2012) and was awarded the Deutscher Fotobuchpreis (German Photobook Prize).

In 2010 Christopher Thomas photographed amateur actors during rehearsals for the Passion Play in Oberammergau. The result was a cycle of 56 portraits that are reminiscent of paintings by Old Masters that exude the spirit of the Play. The volume Christopher Thomas. Passion. Photographs of the Passion Play, Oberammergau was published by Prestel at the same time. Christopher Thomas received several awards for this cycle such as the Silver Medal of the Art Directors Club of Germany (2011) and the German Design Award (2013). The Bavarian National Museum in Munich exhibited a wide selection of photos from this cycle from October 2011 to April 2012 in its magnificent Gothic Hall.

In 2010 Christopher Thomas photographed amateur actors during rehearsals for the Passion Play in Oberammergau. The result was a cycle of 56 portraits that are reminiscent of paintings by Old Masters that exude the spirit of the Play. The volume Christopher Thomas. Passion. Photographs of the Passion Play, Oberammergau was published by Prestel at the same time. Christopher Thomas received several awards for this cycle such as the Silver Medal of the Art Directors Club of Germany (2011) and the German Design Award (2013). The Bavarian National Museum in Munich exhibited a wide selection of photos from this cycle from October 2011 to April 2012 in its magnificent Gothic Hall.

The following two volumes of photographs were also published by Prestel Verlag: Venice in Solitude (2012) and Paris. City of Light (2014).  Most recently Engadin (2015) was presented in conjunction with two exhibitions in St. Moritz.

Works by Christopher Thomas can be seen around the world in well-known photography galleries and at trade fairs, as well as in major private and institutional collections such as the Francois Pinault Collection, the Sir Elton John Photography Collection and the German Bundestag Art Collection.