Christer Strömholm (1918–2002) was one of the most influential Scandinavian photographers and the recipient of the 1997 Hasselblad Award. Born in Stockholm, in 1946 Strömholm moved to Paris where he discovered photography. Between 1949 and ’54 he joined the German group of photographers Fotoforum, led by Otto Steinert, and participated in their exhibitions in Europe and America. Perhaps Strömholm’s most influential series is “Les Amies de la Place Blanche,” documenting the transsexuals of Paris’ Place Blanche in the late fifties and early sixties. From 1962 to ’74 he was director of Fotoskolan in Stockholm where he trained over 1,200 students, many of whom would become leading photographers including Anders Petersen, Dawid, Bille August and Gunnar Smoliansky.