Anne-Katrin Purkiss

Within the RIBA Collections there are many portraits not only of architects but artists, personalities and workers. Nearly 1300 portraits are available on RIBApix, largely as photographs or paintings, but sometimes as caricatures or cartoons.

Complimenting this collection we are very pleased to announce the addition of a number of photographic portraits of architects taken by the photographer Anne-Katrin Purkiss. Her collection of British portraits spans more than thirty years, featuring people who inspire through their work and their ideas. As a personal interest, she documents people in the context of their environment and their occupations. Her work with architects includes documenting the restoration of artists’ homes and studios such as the Watts Gallery near Guildford and the conservation of Sandycombe Lodge, J. M. W. Turner’s house in Twickenham. She has also worked with Gainsborough’s House in Sudbury in their bid to develop a national centre for Thomas Gainsborough in the artist’s birthplace.

Anne-Katrin Purkiss was born in Chemnitz, Germany, and graduated from Leipzig University with a degree in Journalism and Photography. She worked for an advertising agency before moving to England in 1984. After four years at the London bureau of Associated Press, she became a freelance photographer. Her commissions include regular work for museums and galleries and government agencies. She now works as an independent photographer, primarily in England, with a special interest in the arts and the environment.

View more of Anne-Katrin Purkiss’ work on RIBApix or visit her website