Jew, anarchist and photographer of Austrian origin, Margaret Michaelis-Sachs left Berlin in 1933 to settle in Barcelona’s Chinatown, where she would remain until 1937 on account of the rise of Nazism and Hitler’s accession to power. Once in Barcelona, the photographer captured the everyday life of the city in the 1930s, focusing on architecture and urban planning, and was linked to the Group of Catalan Architects and Technicians for the Progress of Contemporary Architecture (GATCPAC). Her images of progressive architecture were published in Catalan magazines such as D’ací i d’Allà, and after the outbreak of the Spanish Civil War, Nova Iberia. Equipped with her Leica, the photographer caught points of view that had never been captured before on camera, always with her own respectful view of the life and character of the neighbourhood. The young Austrian’s photographic talent is no secret; her work is the essence of modernity, and her mastery of technique and understanding of her surroundings is clear. However, much less widely known is that as well as taking excellent photos, Michaelis was a very good writer, as can be seen in the notes that have been preserved in the Historical Archive of the Architects’ Association of Catalonia. During the Spanish Civil War, and before returning to Poland, Margaret collaborated with the Generalitat de Catalunya’s Propaganda Commission.
Photographer who portrayed the Barcelona of the thirties, associated with the architectural movement GATCPAC. During the Spanish Civil War, she collaborated with the Government of Catalonia’s Commissary for Propaganda.