Photographer Elfie Semotan, known for Palmers and Römerquelle campaigns, dies at 84

Star photographer Elfie Semotan has died at the age of 84. Semotan, who was born in Wels, Austria, in 1941, reportedly suffered a cardiac arrest after swimming on Saturday. She had a multifaceted career, first as a model in Paris for seven years in the 1960s, before transitioning to photography.

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I don't like being in front of the camera very much. It's always a challenge for me.

Semotan found photography to be her true passion, stating in an interview that she did not enjoy being in front of the camera. Her career as a photographer quickly took off, leading her to work with prestigious magazines such as Vogue, Elle, and The New Yorker. She photographed numerous international stars, including Marion Cotillard, Colin Farrell, Brad Pitt, and Willem Dafoe, as well as supermodels like Naomi Campbell. She also created intimate portraits of Austrian artists like Elfriede Jelinek, Stefan Sagmeister, and Maria Lassnig.

While Semotan photographed many famous figures, she also gained widespread recognition in Austria for her advertising work. Her campaigns for Palmers and Römerquelle became legendary. She once remarked that her intention to inject more beauty and intelligence into advertising didn't fully succeed, as the industry eventually absorbed and reappropriated her work. Semotan was married to two famous men, Kurt Kocherscheidt and Martin Kippenberger, but she emphasized that she did not want to be defined by them.

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I thought one could make the entire advertising landscape more beautiful and intelligent. But the work I did was eventually taken up by the industry and appropriated.

Semotan had a special friendship with fashion designer Helmut Lang, which led to the opening of the Fotogalerie WestLicht in Vienna in 2001 with works from their collaboration. She received the Golden Decoration of Merit of the State of Vienna in 2004 and the Austrian Decoration for Science and Art in 2011. In 2016, the artist published a book.

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But I don't want to always be defined by the men.