Richard Polak

Richard Polak (17 October 1870, Rotterdam, the Netherlands – 7 October 1957, Lausanne, Switzerland) was a Dutch photographer. He was the son of Abraham Jeremias Polak, a dealer in textiles, and Jeanette Rosenthal.

Career In September 1913 Polak stayed in Berlin for six weeks to study with the photographer Karl Schenker, whom he had met in London. Schenker helped improve his technique and taught him various skills, including retouching.

Subsequent life In 1917, he married Ila Lucie Colclough (died 30 May 1951), who originated from London. He moved to Lausanne in 1932. This relocation, as he was Jewish, saved him from the fate of much of Dutch Jewry during the war. He was active assisting Dutch war refugees in Switzerland; Polak and received the Zilveren Erkentelijkheidsmedaille (Silver Medal of Recognition) from the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs in 1946. In 1950, he was made a Knight in the Order of Orange-Nassau. Despite critics contending that his work was repetitive and that he made unsuccessful attempts at recreating scenes from the past, he has since become the subject of some retrospectives. His work is included in The Royal Photographic Society Collection of the Victoria & Albert Museum in London.