The Gruber Award was initiated by Thomas Gerwers, Chairman of the DGPh Art, Market & Law Section. Developed to mark the Section’s 25th anniversary, it is the first award in the DGPh’s 75-year history to focus specifically on the photographic art market and the individuals who shape it.
The award recognises gallerists, collectors, patrons and other mediators who create visibility for photography, foster artistic careers, preserve works and connect artistic production with the market, institutions and the wider public. It commemorates Renate and L. Fritz Gruber, who together assembled one of the most important photographic collections of their time. L. Fritz Gruber was among the founders of the DGPh in 1951 and, as a collector, cultural mediator and co-initiator of photokina, embodied the relationship between photography, the market and the public sphere.
International Jury
The decision was taken by an independent jury chaired by Simone Klein. The other jury members were Sven Eisenhut-Hug, Birgit Filzmaier, Gérard Goodrow-Jaber, Jutta Müller, and Sinem Yoruk.
The Two Recipients of the inaugural Gruber Award 2026
The German Photographic Society is presenting the inaugural Gruber Award to New York-based gallerist, photography expert and collector Howard Greenberg and Belgian collector, philanthropist and founder of A Foundation Astrid Ullens de Schooten Whettnall