At the Foot of Mt. Gerizim

The Austrian-born photographer Shmuel Yosef Schweig settled in Jerusalem in 1923. From 1925 to 1927, he worked for the Jewish National Fund, following which he established his own studio in Jerusalem. He also served as curator of the photography department at the Rockefeller Museum. His work, which circulated widely, helped to shape the world’s perception of Zionist activity in the Land of Israel. He was the first artistic photographer of landscape and archaeology and the first local photographer to employ color film.