Max Hirshfeld

Max Hirshfeld is an American photographer renowned for his work in portraiture and documentary photography. Born in North Carolina in 1951, he grew up in Decatur, Alabama. He studied photography at George Washington University in Washington, D.C., graduating in 1973. After five years as a staff photographer at the Smithsonian Institution, he established his own studio in Washington, D.C., focusing on advertising, design, and editorial assignments.

Hirshfeld’s fine art photography has been exhibited in major galleries across Boston, Toronto, and Washington, D.C., including the Corcoran Gallery of Art and the Kreeger Museum. His work is part of the permanent collections of institutions such as the National Portrait Gallery and Yad Vashem Museum. He has received silver and bronze awards from the Prix de la Photographie Paris and has been featured in publications like Communication Arts, American Photography, and GRAPHIS.

His editorial photography has appeared in prominent outlets including The New York Times Magazine, Time, and Vanity Fair. In 2019, Hirshfeld published his first book, Sweet Noise: Love in Wartime, which combines photographs, personal reflections, and over 700 love letters exchanged between his parents during their postwar separation. The book offers a deeply personal narrative of love, memory, and the legacy of the Holocaust. (Website, Instagram, Sweet Noise Book)