Another Wall, Berlin, 1967 by Christer Strömholm

Kicken Berlin is marking half a century of the gallery with the exhibition 50 Years | 50 Photographs. Selected by Wilhelm Schürmann – collector, photographer and, in 1974, the gallery’s founding partner together with Rudolf Kicken – the exhibition presents works from their history in Aachen, Cologne and Berlin. 50 years | 50 Photographs is at Kicken Berlin until 20 December

Young policeman wearing sunglasses at the open house of the police academy in Ruhleben, Berlin, 1975 by Gabriele and Helmut Nothhelfer

From 19th century pictorialism to the interwar avant-garde of Bauhaus, Kicken’s collections include the new vision and new objectivity, the influential Czech modernism, the international movement of subjective photography originating in Germany in the 1950s, American new colour photography and the artistic documentary movements in both East and West Germany since the 1970s, to name but a few

From the series People In The Elevator, 1969, by Heinrich Riebeshehl

German photographer Riebesehl photographed everyday scenes in black and white, choosing to capture motifs that at first glance seem insignificant or unspectacular. He gained recognition in the late 1970s as one of the first German representatives of this kind of photography

Alexanderplatz, Berlin, 1967 by Sibylle Bergemann

Bergemann captured the life, parties, fashion, architecture and youth subcultures of East Berlin at the height of the cold war. This makes her perspective especially vital post-reunification, when the memory of East German life was swept away. Bergemann documented the transformations that took place in and around the city both before and after the collapse of the Berlin Wall in 1989, subverting the propagandising style that was prevalent at the time

Topless Bridesmaid, 1967, by Lee Friedlander

In the 1960s and 70s, Friedlander evolved an influential and often imitated visual language of urban ‘social landscape’, with many of his photographs including fragments of storefront reflections, structures framed by fences, posters and street signs. This particular image was taken in LA

East Berlin, 1957, by Arno Fischer

Fischer’s pictures are structurally complex, symbolic standalone images. The artist is principally interested in the state of society, people’s relations with one another and the existential frame of mind of the individual. They are pictures created in the tradition of street photography, though Fischer worked in many kinds of photography including fashion and travel

Untitled (Groningen, NL, Lime Kilns), 1968, by Bernd and Hilla Becher

Contemporary photographers opened up particular new visions which were vital to the young gallerists – among them the Bechers’ conceptual records of industrial buildings, which proved hugely influential for later generations of German photographers.

Bois de Boulogne, 1938, by Lisette Model

Model’s best-known work consists of people on the Promenade des Anglais in Nice and on the streets of New York’s Lower East Side. Her work is notable for its emphasis on the peculiarities of average people in everyday situations, and for its direct, honest portrayal of modern life and its effect on human character. As one of the most influential street photographers of the 1940s, Model redefined the concept of documentary photography in America, and through her roles of teacher and lecturer she shaped the direction of postwar photography

Dalí with Rhinoceros, 1952 by Philippe Halsman

Halsman worked for fashion magazines such as Vogue, and gained a reputation as one of the best portrait photographers in France, renowned for images that were often sharp focused and closely cropped. He had his first success in the US photographing for the cosmetics company Elizabeth Arden and later worked extensively for publications including Life magazine. In 1941 he met the surrealist artist Salvador Dalí. The two began to collaborate in the late 1940s

ND (Neues Deutschland) print shop, circa 1960-1962, by Evelyn Richter

Richter was a German art photographer known primarily for social documentary work in East Germany. She is notable for her black and white portrayal of working-class life, which often showed influences of dada and futurism. Her photography is focused on children, workers (especially women), artists and musicians

Meudon, 1928, by André Kertész

Kertész was a Hungarian-born photographer known for his groundbreaking contributions to photographic composition and the photo essay. In the early years of his career, his then unorthodox camera angles and style prevented his work from gaining wider recognition. He never felt that he had gained the worldwide recognition he deserved. Today he is considered one of the seminal figures of 20th-century photography

Self Portrait with Ata Kando, Paris, 1952, by Ed van der Elsken

You can read more about the Kicken gallery’s pioneering work with 20th-century photographers here