Martin Schoeller

Martin Schoeller, born in Munich in 1968, is one of the most influential portrait photographers working today. After studying photography in Berlin he moved to New York, where he worked as an assistant to Annie Leibovitz before developing his own unmistakable style.

His tightly framed close-up portraits show every subject, from world leaders and film stars to people whose names we will never know, with the same scale, light and directness, removing glamour and hierarchy and leaving only the face. His work has appeared regularly in The New Yorker, National Geographic and many other leading magazines, and in books including Close Up.

Schoeller received a Lucie Award in 2025. His exhibition at House of Lucie Koh Samui in 2026 opened with the artist present.