Chronology

1920

• Born in Copenhagen, Denmark.

1938

• First black-and-white photographs.

1942

• First colour photographs. Early inspiration from the books of the German photographer Dr. Paul Wolff, from Die Welt Ist Schon by Albert Renger-Patzsch and American Photographs by Walker Evans.

1948

• Publishes the book 122 Colour Photographs.

• Assistant cameraman, Minerva Film, Copenhagen.

1949

• First motion picture experiment and first experiments with photograms. Editor Wilson Hicks publishes seven pages of photographs from 122 Colour Photographs in LIFE magazine.

1950

• Travels to the USA on a fellowship from the American-Scandinavian Foundation. Experiments with colour film, moving camera, and open shutter at night while in New York. Meets photographers Richard Avedon, Louis Faurer, Andreas Feininger, Lotte Jacobi, Robert Sheehan and Aaron Siskind, filmmakers Hans Richter, Francis Lee and Lewis Jacobs. Travels to Mexico and later via California to Chicago.

• Studies and teaches at the Institute of Design in Chicago under Harry Callahan October 1950-May 1951.

1951

• Produces a large number of black-and-white photographs of Chicago’s industrial skyline. Continues to work with 16-mm film.

• Cameraman on the film The Designer and Industrial Society for the Institute of Design. Returns to Denmark. Film and video cameraman, Danish Broadcasting Corporation, during its first experimental phase.

1952

• Attends Design Education Summer Course in Oslo, Norway, conducted by a group of teachers from the Institute of Design.

1953

• Lectures at the School of Interior Design, Copenhagen, under the architect Finn Juhl. Joins the studio of the photographer Erik Hansen at the Danish Museum of Art and Design, Copenhagen. Works mainly in the field of architecture and design. Also produces exhibition catalogues and posters.

1954

• Visits the German photographer/teacher Otto Steinert in Saarbrücken.

1956

• Establishes own studio in Copenhagen.

1957

• Travels to Germany with the architect Poul Kjærholm. Visits the Hochschule für Gestaltung in Ulm and the Folkwangschule in Essen.

1958

• Travels to the USA. Works as a photographer for three months at the Museum of International Folk Art, Santa Fé, New Mexico. Meets photographers Laura Gilpin and Eliot Porter. Returns to Denmark via California, Japan, China, and India. 

1958-1960

• Receives commissions for photomurals for design exhibitions, banks, ships, etc.

1960

• Publishes Fragments of a City, containing a selection of the photographs taken in Chicago.

1964

• Appointed lecturer and instructor, Department of Visual Communication, School of Architecture, Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts, Copenhagen.

1965-1968

• Teaches courses for advanced students at the School of Graphic Design, Copenhagen.

1967

• Produces photomurals for the Danish pavilion at the World EXPO ‘67 in Montreal, Canada, in collaboration with the architect Poul Kjærholm.

1968

• Writes and directs the film Red and White for the Danish State Film Board.

1970

• Travels to Italy. The wealth of sculpture in Rome and its surroundings inspires a series of photographs.

1971

• Travels to Norway to produce the film Falling Water.

1974-1978

• Resumes experiments with photograms.

• Works on series of photographs based on found objects. Lectures at the Art Department, University of Lund, Sweden, in 1978.

1975

• Travels to Iran and Afghanistan with a small group of students from the School of Architecture.

1980

• Invited by the American-Scandinavian Foundation in New York to exhibit colour photographs. Travels to New York for the occasion.

• Meets the photographer Aaron Siskind and persuades him to show his work in Denmark.

1981

• Organizes an exhibition of Aaron Siskind’s photographs at the Royal Museum of Fine Arts, Copenhagen, in collaboration with art dealer F.W.Øberg and photographer Frank Mundt. Awarded the Bindesbøll Medal for design achievement by the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts. Receives the Danish Arts and Crafts Council’s Annual Award.

1984

• Appointed Chairman of the Board, Museum of Photographic Art, Odense, Denmark. Travels to Spain and later Venice with students.

1990

• Retires from the faculty of the School of Architecture at the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts, Copenhagen. Comprehensive, retrospective exhibition at the Museum of Photographic Art, Odense, Denmark.

1993

• Publishes Frameworks – Photographs 1950-1990, first comprehensive publication on work from this period (Hans Reitzels Publishers).  

1999-2000

• Commission to illustrate a three-volume book on the history of the Danish Garden.

2005

• Travels to France to attend an exhibition of early colour photographs chosen by British photographer Martin Parr at the annual photofestival, Rencontres de la Photographie, Arles, France. Recipient of Fogtdal’s Photographic Award. Retrospective exhibition at the Fotografisk Center, Copenhagen, Denmark. Exhibition at Rocket Gallery, London, England.

2006

• Works with the digitalization of 35-mm color transparencies for future prints.

2007

• Publishes Keld Helmer-Petersen - Photographs 1941-1991, containing a retrospective selection of photographs from the period (Christian Ejlers Publishers).

2008 

• Structures, a mural of 2 x 16 photographs, opens at the Copenhagen Airport, Kastrup Station.

2010-2011

• Works with the digitalization of objects, transparencies and negatives for future books and exhibitions. Publishes the results in the two books: Black Noise and Back to Black (Rocket Gallery). 

2013

• Dies in Copenhagen at the age 92.