Swiss photographer and painter of American birth, Florence Henri moved to Rome in 1909, where she came into contact with Futurist ideas. She studied piano and painting at the Staatliche Hochschule für bildenden Künste in 1914 in Berlin. She continued her painting studies in Paris (1922-23) at the Académie André Lhote and the Académie Moderne between 1924 and 1925. Her paintings from this period showed the influence of Cubism and geometrical Abstractionism. The most significant period of Henri's artistic education was, undoubtedly, with Bauhaus in Dessau, where she studied painting and photography under Josef Albers and Moholy-Nagy. The latter was responsible for Henri's interest in photography. She began to use mirrors and plate glass so as to alter and multiply the image of the object, which led to extremely complex works. Between 1929 and 1963, she did freelance work in Paris on fashion photography, portraits and advertising. Between 1928 and 1947, she taught photography and, in the 30s, was involved with the Cercle et Carré group. 1963 saw her move to Compiégne where she decided to dedicate herself, fundamentally, to painting.
