Ernest Nash
Ernest Nash, born Ernst Nathan in Potsdam, Germany, on September 14, 1898, was a photographer who specialized in Roman architecture and helped pioneer archaeological photography. He grew up in Potsdam, earned a law degree at the University of Jena, and ran a law office there. He first traveled to Italy in 1936 to photograph the ancient ruins of Rome, Ostia, and Pompeii. He fled Germany to escape Nazi racial laws and lived in the United States from 1939 to 1952, during which time he changed his name to Nash.
Back in Italy in 1952, he continued his work and, in 1957, founded the Fototeca Unione archive at the American Academy in Rome, serving as its director. Besides architecture, he also photographed portraits of famous musicians, including Béla Bartók in New York; that Bartók photo later appeared in The New York Times.
Nash was married three times. He was survived by his wife Bertha (his third wife), two daughters, two grandchildren, and two great-grandchildren; his first two wives had already died. He died in Rome on May 18, 1974, and is buried in the Campo Cestio cemetery.
This page was last edited on 3 February 2026, at 14:34 (CET).