Sasha Stone

About the Artist

Unknown photographer. Portrait of Sasha Stone. Reproduced in “Eine neue Künstler-Gilde: Der Fotograf erobert Neuland” (A new artist guild: The photographer conquers new territory). UHU 6, no. 1 (October 1929)

Sasha Stone was born Aleksander Serge Steinsapir in St. Petersburg, Russia, on December 16, 1895, though his life and career are rarely associated with that country. Before he turned thirty, Stone had traveled extensively, living in Warsaw, New York, Paris, and England, where he was stationed as a member of the United States army. Stone began photographing as a hobby prior to settling in Berlin in 1918 with his girlfriend, Cami Stone, whom he married in 1922. Living in Germany over the next two decades, Stone published his photographs widely in periodicals such as G, Die Form, Das Kunstblatt, UHU, Berliner Illustrirte Zeitung, Der Querschnitt, Gebrauchsgraphik, and Die Dame. In addition to photography, Stone studied sculpture with the Ukrainian Cubo-Futurist Aleksandr Archipenko. In 1924 Sasha and Cami Stone opened Atelier Stone in Berlin, which produced photography for industrial and commercial advertising. Stone is best known for his Photomontage for the cover of Walter Benjamin’s book Einbahnstraße (One-Way Street), published in 1928. Throughout the late 1920s and early 1930s, Stone exhibited in numerous exhibitions, including Kunst und Technik (Art and technology; 1928-29), Fotografie der Gegenwart (Photography of the present; 1929), Film und Foto (1929), and Exposition internationale de la photographie (1932). The Stones relocated to Brussels, Cami’s hometown, in 1931, where they remained through their divorce, in 1939. Much like Benjamin, Stone, also Jewish, fled Brussels upon the German invasion and died in 1940 en route through the Pyrenees in Perpignan, France, while trying to emigrate through Spain to the United States.

—Ksenia Nouril
Alternate Name(s) Aleksander Serge Steinsapir (Birth Name)

Meeting Points

Cultural Hubs Berlin
Exhibitions Film und Foto, 1929
Foto der Gegenwart, 1929
Publications Berliner Illustrirte Zeitung, 1917–31
Das deutsche Lichtbild, 1927–38
Vu, 1928–31
Foto-Auge, 1929
Es kommt der neue Fotograf!, 1929

Artist Chronology

December 16, 1895	Born At location: Sasha Stone	Saint Petersburg
1908–13	Lives in Warsaw At location: Sasha Stone	Warsaw
Late 1913–1917	Lives in New York At location: Sasha Stone	New York
1913–17	Works as a welder, draftsman, and industrial drawer. Attends Hunt Diederich's sculpture courses At location: Sasha Stone	New York
1917	Enlists in the U.S. army and is stationed in England. Begins photographing recreationally At location: Sasha Stone	England
1918	Studies at the American Expeditionary Forces (AEF) Art Training Centre at Bellevue At location: Sasha Stone	Paris
Late 1918–1931	Cami and Sasha Stone live in Berlin together At location: Sasha Stone, Cami Stone	Berlin
1920s	The Stones publish photographs in G, Die Form, Das Kunstblatt, UHU, Berliner Illustrirte Zeitung, Der Querschnittand Gebrauchsgraphik Contributor: Sasha Stone, Cami Stone	Berlin Weimar
1921	Studies sculpture with Aleksandr Archipenko At location: Sasha Stone	Berlin
1922	Cami and Sasha Stone marry At location: Sasha Stone, Cami Stone	Berlin
1924–31	Atelier Stone, for industrial and commercial advertising photography, operates in Berlin At location: Sasha Stone, Cami Stone	Berlin
1928	Designs a photomontage cover for Walter Benjamin's Einbahnstrasse Contributor: Sasha Stone	Berlin
April 1928	Photographs of Erwin Piscator's home by Sasha Stone and Lotte Jacobi are published in Die Dame Contributor: Lotte Jacobi, Sasha Stone	Berlin
June 8–July 22, 1928	Kunst und Technik at the Museum Folkwang Participant: Albert Renger-Patzsch, Sasha Stone	Essen
January 1929	Kunst und Technik at Verein Berliner Künstler Participant: Albert Renger-Patzsch, Sasha Stone	Berlin
1929	The Stones publish Berlin in Bilder Contributor: Sasha Stone, Cami Stone	Berlin
1929	Franz Roh publishes Foto-Auge: 76 Fotos der Zeit Contributor: Herbert Bayer, Max Burchartz, Florence Henri, El Lissitzky, Man Ray (Emmanuel Radnitzky), László Moholy-Nagy, Walter A. Peterhans, Albert Renger-Patzsch, Maurice Tabard, Umbo (Otto Umbehr), Edward Weston, Franz Roh, Semyon Fridlyand, Robert Petschow, Sasha Stone, Dziga Vertov, Hans Finsler, Paul Edmund Hahn, J. Jay Hirz	Stuttgart
1929	Werner Graeff publishes Es kommt der neue Fotograf! Contributor: Herbert Bayer, El Lissitzky, Man Ray (Emmanuel Radnitzky), Albert Renger-Patzsch, Hans Richter, Umbo (Otto Umbehr), Oskar Nerlinger, Sasha Stone, Dziga Vertov, Hans Finsler, Cami Stone	Berlin
January 20–February 17, 1929	Fotografie der Gegenwart at Museum Folkwang Kestner Gesellschaft v.V, Königstrasse 8, Hannover March 10–April 7, 1929 Galerie Neumann-Nierendorf, Lützowstrasse 32, Berlin April 20–May 20, 1929 Whitechapel Art Gallery, London June 6–29, 1929 Frankfurter Kunstverein, Frankfurt July 7–August 8, 1929 Leipziger Kunstverein, Augustusplatz 6, Leipzig August 18–September 8, 1929 Lichthof des Neuen Rathauses, Dresden September 15–October 6, 1929 Kunstverein, Rostock October 20-November 10, 1929 am Adolf-Mittag-See, Städtisches Ausstellungsamt, Magdeburg November 28–December 19, 1929 Landesgewerbeanstalt, Kaiserslautern February 23–March 23, 1930 Vereinigung Göttinger Kunstfreunde, Göttingen May 18–June 8, 1930 Participant: Berenice Abbott, Herbert Bayer, Aenne Biermann, Max Burchartz, Florence Henri, Lotte Jacobi, André Kertész, Germaine Krull, El Lissitzky, Man Ray (Emmanuel Radnitzky), László Moholy-Nagy, Walter A. Peterhans, Albert Renger-Patzsch, Hans Richter, August Sander, Umbo (Otto Umbehr), Lucia Moholy, Karl Blossfeldt, Erich Comeriner, Eli Lotar, Oskar Nerlinger, Robert Petschow, Frieda Gertrud Riess, Sasha Stone, Hans Finsler, Paul Edmund Hahn, Cami Stone	Essen
May–July 1929	Gas und Wasser exhibition of photomontages and photographs from Bauhaus Dessau Designer: Georg Muche, Heinz Loew Participant: Walter A. Peterhans, Sasha Stone	Dessau
May 18–July 7, 1929	Internationale Ausstellung des Deutschen Werkbunds Film und Foto (FiFo) at Städtische Ausstellungshallen Kunstgewerbemuseum, Zurich August 28–September 22, 1929 Im Lichthof des Ehemaligen Kunstgewerbemuseums, Prinz-Albrechs-Strasse 7, Berlin October 19–November 17, 1929 Stadtmuseum, Danzig (dates unknown) Österreichisches Museum, Vienna February 20–March 31, 1930 Agram, Zagreb April 5–14, 1930 Münchner Bund/Verein Ausstellungspark München E.V. (as part of Internationale Ausstellung. Das Lichtbild), Munich June 5–September 7, 1930 Asahi Shimbun, Tokyo April 1931 Asahi Shimbun, Osaka July 1–7, 1931 Participant: Berenice Abbott, Herbert Bayer, Aenne Biermann, Anton Bruehl, Francis Bruguière, Max Burchartz, Florence Henri, André Kertész, Germaine Krull, Helmar Lerski, El Lissitzky, Man Ray (Emmanuel Radnitzky), László Moholy-Nagy, Walter A. Peterhans, Albert Renger-Patzsch, Hans Richter, Aleksandr Rodchenko, Charles Sheeler, Edward Steichen, Maurice Tabard, Umbo (Otto Umbehr), Edward Weston, Lucia Moholy, Werner Rohde, George Hoyningen-Huene, Gustav Klutsis, Karl Blossfeldt, Heinz Loew, Erich Comeriner, Semyon Fridlyand, Roman Karmen, Eli Lotar, Oskar Nerlinger, Robert Petschow, Sasha Stone, Dziga Vertov, Yva (Else Simon), Willy Zielke, Irene Bayer-Hecht, Hans Finsler, Cami Stone Organizer: El Lissitzky, László Moholy-Nagy, Hans Richter, Edward Steichen, Edward Weston, Dziga Vertov Visitor: Alexander Hackenschmied	Stuttgart
February 1930	German Advertising Photographs at the Camera Club of London Participant: Sasha Stone, Hans Finsler, Cami Stone	London
October 5–November 2, 1930	Ausstellung Portréit-Zeichnungen, -Grafik, und -Fotos at Kunstblatt Reckendorfhaus Participant: Sasha Stone, Cami Stone	Berlin
1931–late 1939	Sasha and Cami Stone reestablish their studio in Brussels At location: Sasha Stone, Cami Stone	Brussels
July 2–31, 1932	Exposition internationale de la photographie at the Palais des Beaux-Arts Participant: Aenne Biermann, André Kertész, Man Ray (Emmanuel Radnitzky), Franz Roh, Lee Miller, Sasha Stone Organizer: Cami Stone	Brussels
1933	Editions Arts et Métiers Graphiques publishes Les Femmes, a collection of 25 female nudes by Sasha and Cami Stone Contributor: Sasha Stone, Cami Stone	Paris
June and July 1933	Deuxième exposition internationale de la photographie et du cinéma at Palais des Beaux-Arts Participant: André Kertész, Werner Rohde, Alexander Hackenschmied, Sasha Stone, Cami Stone	Brussels
Early 1939	Sasha and Cami Stone split and end their collaboration. They continue to work in the same studio until Sasha remarries At location: Sasha Stone, Cami Stone	Brussels
July 1940	Attempts to emigrate through Spain to the United States as the Germans invade Brussels At location: Sasha Stone	Brussels
August 6, 1940	Dies en route through the Pyrenees At location: Sasha Stone	Perpignan