Yakov Agor: Photographer

Photographer Yakov Agor (1911–1996) worked for the weekly HaOlam HaZe magazine between 1960 and 1962 and for the Haaretz Weekend Supplement from 1963 to the 1980s. This is the first museum exhibition of his works. From the 1960s to his death, Agor was Israel's leading theater and dance photographer, and the principal photographer of Habima Theater. He took countless portraits of theater and cinema performers, playwrights, poets, authors and artists. He also photographed state occasions, such as the funeral of Ze'ev Jabotinsky (whose remains were brought to Israel for burial in 1964), Mapai's 10th Congress, the 1965 IDF Parade, demonstrations, the Six Day War, the Yom Kippur War and political figures.
Agor insisted on unstaged photography that used existing lighting to achieve the full complexity of light and shade; as a result, his prints are at times shrouded in darkness. The exhibition presents some 40 original photographs that provide a retrospective view of his diverse work.