Willem van de Poll
Willem van de Poll was a Dutch photographer, known for his photo reportage and for having become the official photographer of the Dutch reigning house.
Biography
Born in Amsterdam on April 13, 1895, into a well-being family, he studied in Vienna right after the First World War and became the assistant of Alexander Korda.Beginning his career with some press photos of a major fire published on the Berliner Tageblatt in 1920, he began to travel abroad extensively, becoming his most important feature. He worked with Associated Press and Black Star, and his press photo were published on all the most famous newspapers.
Particularly important were the travels in Italy in the 1930s and the beginning of the advertisement photography, working with many fashion and big companies across Europe.
In 1944 he was appointed to head the "photographic service" of the Dutch military forces. First, he became staff photographer of Prince Bernhard, the then commander-in-chief of the Interior Forces, and then he remained the royal house's photographer till the late 1950s. He employed also as a press photographer at the Anefo.
In the meanwhile he kept traveling around the world, particularly going to the newly founded state of Israel.