Acclaimed as the most famous photographer in the world in 1920, London-based celebrity photographer E.O. Hoppé (1878 1972) pursued a project to make a collective national portrait of the recently unified territory, Greater Romania. In July of 1923, Hoppé ventured out of his South Kensington studio to photograph the Romanian people in their natural environs, embarking on a trip that would produce his first national typological survey. Welcomed as a guest across the country, from the royal palace of the King and Queen to gypsy camps in the hinterland, Hoppé created an unparalleled documentation of Romania s topographic, architectural and human diversity.
Hoppé s observations were published as a travel book in London the following year, exposing the greater public to Romania s intrinsic beauty and rich culture. Hoppé s Portrait of a Country: Photographs of Greater Romania, 1923 presents a photo-typology as a case study of a nation on the cusp of international recognition.