This article draws an overview of the field of professional photography in Brazil since the first Vargas administration to the end of the Twentieth Century. In the 30.s and 40.s, a new host of photographers came to live in Brazil from various countries. Some of them took positions in the Federal Government and were responsible for building a photographical image of the Nation. In the middle of the Century, the technique to make photos for newspapers suffered a profound change and, for the first time, a Brazilian museum organized an exhibit of photographs. The military dictatorship decisively interfered in the cultural industry. The 70.s were marked by changes in the status and in the professional profile of photographers, brought about especially by young professionals pouring from universities into the field. It was at that time that came to life an institution devoted to the promotion of Brazilian photography in all its dimensions: The Photography Center of the National Foundation for the Arts. Finally, it will be shown how the field of photo documentation was boosted after the introduction of fellowships and legal incentives, which, together with a significant increase in the consumption of photography books, contributed to the growth of authorial works, as well as of publications.
Photographers; press; legal incentives