Lü Houmin
Lü Houmin | |
|---|---|
| Born | 9 September 1928 Yilan County, Heilongjiang, China |
| Died | 9 March 2015 (aged 86) Beijing, China |
| Nationality | Chinese |
| Occupation | Photographer of the chinese government |
| Political party | Chinese Communist Party |
| Awards | Gold medal in Soviet Union International Photography Exhibition (1961) World's Great Artists by New York Eastern and Western Artists Association (1997) Outstanding Contribution Award from International Federation of Photographic Art (1997) |
Lü Houmin (Simplified Chinese 吕厚民; 9 September 1928 – 9 March 2015) was a Chinese photographer who gained national and international recognition for taking official photographs of Chinese leaders, most notably Mao Zedong, from 1950 to 1964. Lü started out as a teacher, and later switched to photography. He was called Mao's private photographer because many of his photographs were different from the official ones, showing Mao in a more relaxed and personal manner.
Lü maintained a rather friendly and simple image of Mao Zedong throughout his life and the Cultural Revolution. He received many international photographic awards.
Lü, Xu Xiaobing and Hou Bo have been called the best photographers of Mao.