August Sander (1876 - 1964) is revered in Germany as a father of modern photography, and his work has had an enormous influence on generations of artists around the world. He is known primarily for his iconic photographs of farmers, artists, bricklayers, musicians, cab drivers, bureaucrats, dancers, industrialists, secretaries, the unemployed, and the disabled. These images, which make up an ambitious photographic project known as People of the Twentieth Century, form a collective "portrait" of pre-World War II German society.

His influence can be seen in the work of subsequent generations of international photographers, including that of Walker Evans, Diane Arbus, and Bernd and Hilla Becher. Sander’s exhaustive People of the 20th Century project set conceptual and aesthetic standards that were unprecedented in the history of photography; the achievement is still considered unparalleled today.