In the vibrant 1920s and 1930s, photographers Cami and Sasha Stone played a major role in the artistic world, from Berlin to Brussels. Their studio, Studio Stone , specialized in advertising, industrial, and artistic photography. The Musée de la Photographie and the Amsab Institute for Social History joined forces to exhibit their iconic work within a historical, artistic, and political framework.
The exhibition showcases the versatility of Cami and Sasha Stone. Their work encompasses architectural and industrial photography, nudes, spectacle photos, and portraits of well-known artists and politicians. These photographs are presented alongside publications from the period. The research offers a new perspective on these forgotten photographers from the interwar period and highlights the diversity of their oeuvre.
Studio Stone , or Atelier Stone , emerged from a collaboration between the Belgian Wilhelmine Camille Honorine Schammelhout (Cami Stone) and the Russian Aleksander Serge Steinsapir (Sasha Stone). They met in Berlin and established their studio there in 1924. At the time, they were considered among the best photographers of their time. Journalists and critics praised their work, placing them on the same level as, or even higher than, renowned photographers such as André Kertész, Germaine Krull, László Moholy-Nagy, and Man Ray.
Collaboration between the Musée de la Photographie in Charleroi and the Amsab Institute for Social History
This exhibition is a collaboration between the Musée de la Photographie and Amsab-ISG in Ghent, which owns 170 original prints, posters, and documents from the Stones. This material was supplemented by collections from the Musée de la Photographie and other Belgian and German institutions.
The only previous solo exhibition of Sasha Stone's work took place in Germany in 1990 and was also on display at FOMU in Antwerp. Studio Stone builds on previous research and reassessments of the Stones' work. This exhibition offers a fresh perspective on their photography and features previously unpublished works and documents.
Practical information
From February 1 to May 18, 2025
Musée de la Photographie
11 avenue Paul Pastur
Pl. des Essarts, 6032 Charleroi
Info & tickets
Catalog
The exhibition is accompanied by a richly illustrated catalog featuring contributions from experts in photography, literature, and political history. This catalog is available for purchase in our webshop .
Website: a digital archive about the world of the Stones
In addition to the exhibition and the catalog, there's now a new way to explore their work: the Studio Stone website . The website follows the structure of the exhibition at the Musée de la Photographie and offers an overview of the same themes: political portraits, urban photography, nude photography, theater & dance, and more. A separate page also provides an overview of their work in international collections. This digital archive brings together rarely seen photographs and documents, thus offering a broader perspective on their artistic world and legacy.
Institutions with works in the exhibition
- Amsab Institute for Social History, Ghent Archives of the City of Brussels
- Archives et Musée de la Littérature, Brussels
- Axel Springer Syndication, Ullstein Bild, Berlin
- Berlinische Galerie, Berlin
- BOZAR, Brussels
- Centre Pompidou, Musée National d'Art Moderne, Parijs, via l'Agence Photo GrandPalaisRmn, Parijs
- Folkwang Museum, Essen, via the Artothek, Fürth
- FOMU, Antwerp
- Émile Vandervelde Institute, Brussels
- Institute for Theater Science, Berlin
- Royal Library and Bibliothèque royale, Brussels Landesarchiv, Berlin
- Musée de la Photographie, Charleroi
- Musée Nicephore Niépce, Chalon-sur-Saône
- Stadel Museum, Frankfurt
- City Archives, Magdeburg
- City Museum, Berlin
- UGent, Ghent.
The exhibition and accompanying catalogue benefited from the support of the Flemish and French Communities of Belgium.
