Remembering Thomas Hoepker (1936–2024)

Hoepker joined Stern magazine as a photojournalist in 1964, the same year that Magnum began to distribute his archive. He worked as cameraman and producer of documentary films for German television in 1972, and from 1974 collaborated with his second wife, the journalist Eva Windmoeller, first in East Germany and then in New York, where they moved to work as correspondents for Stern in 1976. From 1978 to 1981 Hoepker was director of photography for the American edition of Geo.

Hoepker took one of the most memorable images of a singularly defining event in the history of the 21st century: a shot of young people relaxing on 9/11 as the World Trade Center burns behind them, which has come to symbolize much of the allegorical power of photography. Hoepker published it five years after the event — he had initially decided to hold back on sharing the image, wishing to respect the solemnity of the atmosphere immediately following the attacks, but it was the subject of much comment when he agreed to its use in a book about photographs of 9/11 in 2006. “Mr. Hoepker’s photo is prescient as well as important — a snapshot of history soon to come,” wrote Frank Rich in The New York Times. 

In the late 1960s, Elliott Erwitt invited Hoepker to become part of Magnum as a member of the collective. Though Hoepker had been an admirer of Erwitt’s work, he declined, as he was engaged in work with Stern. It was to be around two decades later, in 1989 that Hoepker would finally leave Stern and take on the opportunity to join Magnum, where he was to become president in 2003. On the subject of running an agency with his fellow photographers, he said, “It’s not easy, because we have to deal with big egos of big photographers. But it’s worth it.”

Hoepker made a beloved series on a sports and pop-cultural titan, Muhammad Ali. Across two extraordinary visits to Ali in London and Chicago, Hoepker and his then-wife Eva Windmoeller followed the boxer as he prepared for a fight and trained on his home turf. Hoepker’s portrait of the fighter jumping atop a bridge on the Chicago River became iconic, but was the result of spontaneous improvisation between the two, rather than any premeditation. Hoepker reflected on Ali’s playful character: “Ali could be widely alert, sharp and observant, he loved to saunter down the streets, to banter with real people. He melted away when he saw children. They adored him, he hugged them, he did some shadow-boxing and then he took sudden naps in the backseat of his chauffeured Lincoln sedan.”

Throughout the time he was employed as a news photographer, he always saw himself as a journalist. It was only after becoming a member of Magnum that he began to recognize the role of the artist within that of the photographer. “A truly strong photojournalistic image is a reproduction of reality, nothing about it can be faked,” he said. “But today, there’s more room for interpretation of reality by the photographer: style, eye and aesthetic all matter. Even at Magnum, everyone has to make his own decision on how far he wants to go in presenting reality through his own eyes.”

Hoepker’s work published in books includes DDR Ansichten — Views of a Vanished Country (2011), a portrait of East Germany spanning over three decades, and Return of the Maya (1999), an investigation of the lives and beliefs of Maya communities in Guatemala. His reportage and features in color revealed to many the alluring landscapes and scenery of America, Japan, China and many other places around the world. He also photographed revered artists such as Andy Warhol and Roy Lichtenstein. Hoepker received the prestigious Kulturpreis of the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Photographie in 1968. 

In 1976, Hoepker moved to New York. Later in his career, he shot and produced TV documentaries together with his third wife, Christine Kruchen. A retrospective exhibition, showing 230 images from 50 years of work, toured Germany and other parts of Europe in 2007.

In 2020, after Hoepker was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s Disease, he and Kruchen decided to take a road trip across the US — his home for the past four decades. This resulted in the documentary Dear Memories, exploring his life and work through his memories, released in cinemas in 2022. The same year, Hoepker published The Way It Was, juxtaposing the color photographs from his most recent road trip with the original black-and-white images of the past, taking us on a journey both through his changing sense of America and through time. 

During the pandemic, Hoepker and Kruchen began going back through his very first black-and-white film negative files and scanning what they found. One of their discoveries was a series of 10,000 negatives showing a photographic study of life in Italy in the late 1950s — shot with the Leica MP he purchased at 19 years old with the proceeds of his very first picture sales. The photobook Italia, featuring a selection of these early images, was published in 2023 by Buchkunst Berlin.

“The Magnum family has lost one of its dearest members, Thomas Hoepker, today,” writes Magnum President Cristina de Middel. “A true visionary, Thomas’s contributions extended beyond his remarkable, playful, poignant photographs. As President of Magnum Photos from 2003 to 2006, he led with unwavering dedication and a commitment to nurturing the next generation of photographers and securing the future of the agency as a relevant entity. His legacy within the Magnum community is one of inspiration, mentorship, and a relentless pursuit of excellence combined with kindness and generosity.

“Thomas Hoepker’s work will continue to inspire and educate, reminding us of the power of photography to shape our understanding of the world. He will be deeply missed by his colleagues, friends, and admirers around the globe. Our thoughts are with his family during this difficult time.”

Thomas Hoepker passed away after a long battle with Alzheimer’s on July 10, 2024, in Santiago, Chile. He was 88.