Together with her Rolleiflex cameras, Hélène Roger-Viollet travelled the Americas, Asia, Africa in the 1950s-1970s, at a time when travel was neither easy nor common.
Over her 30 years as a photographer, Hélène Roger-Viollet created a body of work that combines documentary evidence with her own distinctive aesthetic. In the manner of an ethnologist, she did not search for sensationalism — but instead chose to document daily life and the customs of the people she encountered.
Hélène Roger-Viollet was the eldest daughter of Henri Roger, an engineer and amateur photographer. After growing up surrounded by her father's photography, she trained in journalism, and founded the Roger-Viollet Photographic Agency in 1938 with her husband, Jean Fischer. Her photographic collection has been bequeathed to the City of Paris and is currently held by the Historical Library of the City of Paris.
