November 15, 2025 - May 3, 2026

The black-and-white photo shows a group of women seated in white princess dresses with sashes at a Republican election party.
Republican election party, Southern United States, USA, 1964

UNITED | DISUNITED - Max Scheler: USA Photographs

Photojournalist Max Scheler with two cameras around his neck.
Photojournalist Max Scheler, Hamburg, Germany, 1964. © Max Scheler Estate, Hamburg


United | Disunited

The United States of the 1950s seemed to young photographer Max Scheler like a liberation from the postwar gloom of the young Federal Republic of Germany. Despite his fascination with the “New World,” however, his photographic gaze also focused on the social and political contradictions of the new world power. Until the mid-1970s, he repeatedly reported on poverty and wealth, the nuclear threat during the Cold War, the racism of many white US citizens, and the growing self-confidence of African Americans. Numerous reports by Scheler document the increasing polarization between the political camps during the presidential election campaigns in the USA.
In the few years of his photographic career, Max Scheler left behind a body of work that ranks among the most significant of the postwar period. The exhibition at the Mark Twain Center, featuring more than 80 black-and-white works and color images, shows Max Scheler as a chronicler of historical events with a great love for everyday life.

The artist:
Born in Cologne in 1928, Max Scheler began his career as a freelance photojournalist in the early 1950s. Working on assignment for the Magnum agency and major magazines – including many years with Hamburg's Stern magazine from 1959 onwards – he traveled all over the world. His expressive photo essays combine topicality with long-term analysis. The focus is on people, whom Scheler approaches with a mixture of restraint and admiration. From the mid-1970s, he played a leading role in the development of the magazines Geo and Merian and died in 2003 in his adopted home of Hamburg.
Photographs:

The color photo shows four black female models in colorful dresses made of African fabrics against the Manhattan skyline.
Manhattan, USA, 1969. © Max Scheler Estate, Hamburg
The black-and-white photo shows Jackie and John F. Kennedy in left profile, awaiting Hassan II of Morocco.
Jackie and John F. Kennedy await Hassan II of Morocco, Washington, 1963. © Max Scheler Estate, Hamburg
The black-and-white photo shows a black woman in an armchair receiving a professional foot massage from a white woman.
Foot massage, Atlanta, 1964. © Max Scheler Estate, Hamburg

Information on visiting the exhibition

Opening hours
Wednesday to Sunday from 1 to 6 pm
closed on December 24, 25, 31 and January 1


Admission
Admission is free.


Guided tours
General information about guided tours can be found here.


Supporting program
Guided tours, lectures. Click here for the digital calendar of events.


Contact us
Römerstr. 162, 69126 Heidelberg
Telephone 06221 58-34065
from Monday to Thursday: 08.30-13:00,
Friday: 08.30-14.30
E-mail: mark-twain-center@heidelberg.de


Accessibility
The special exhibition area is accessible without steps. Spacious toilets and a disabled toilet are available. Further information on the accessibility of the museum for people with various disabilities can be found here. 


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