Tata Ronkholz

Tata Ronkholz (1940–1997) was a German photographer and designer. She was a member of the Düsseldorf School of Photography.

Biography Ronkholz was born in Krefeld under the maiden name Roswitha Tölle. From 1961 to 1965 she studied architecture and interior design at the Werkkunstschule Krefeld. After working at the Schroer furniture store in Krefeld from 1965 to 1966, she worked as a freelance product designer until 1977. She came into contact with photography through her husband Coco Ronkholz, who was responsible for producing a catalogue for Bernd Becher. In 1977, Ronkholz began studying at the Kunstakademie Düsseldorf. She studied under Bernd Becher, from 1978 to 1985, making her one of Becher's first students at the Düsseldorf Academy, alongside Andreas Gursky, Candida Höfer, Axel Hütte, Thomas Ruff and Thomas Struth, which later became known as the Becher School or the Düsseldorf School of Photography. After completing her studies, she stopped taking photographs for economic reasons and worked in a Cologne photo agency from 1985 to 1995 for living. In 1997, Tata Ronkholz died at Kendenich Castle near Cologne. In Düsseldorf she was taught by Bernd Becher.

Public collections Her work is in the collections of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Die Photographische Sammlung/SK Stiftung Kultur the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, and the Städel Museum, Frankfurt.