As a result of her many years of activity in the fields of research and exhibitions, Anna Auer (the first female Honorary President of the ESHPh) has provided numerous impulses for investigation into the history of photography.
Anna Auer founded the first commercial photo gallery on the European continent when she opened the gallery “Die Brücke” in 1970. She was also the founding director of the historical photographic collection “Sammlung Fotografis” (1975), as well as being the initiator of annual photo symposia held in the German-speaking world (until 1981), organising a large number of exhibitions and the author or editor of a wide-range of publications on photographic history (The Forgotten Letters and Manuscripts: Niépce, Daguerre, Talbot; Christian Schad, Ferdinand Schmutzer, eg.).
Anna Auer made a major contribution to the establishment of a photographic museum and research centre in Vienna but, unfortunately, the concepts and proposals she presented in 1994 have remained unfulfilled by the responsible ministries of the Republic of Austria.
