In the world of advertising Walde Huth and her husband Karl Hugo Schmölz, son of the Cologne architectural photographer, Hugo Schmölz, were considered a much sought after team for demanding contract work.

Both artists not only photographed star designer pieces – they also orchestrated the staging for up-market consumer and everyday products in extraordinarily special ways.

The advertising photography of the Schmölz + Huth Cologne studio from the 50s to the 80s included advertising photos for the auto industry (Renault, Ford, DKW, Borgward, Audi), the fashion and textiles industry (Parisian Haute Couture), for washing powder companies (Wipp, Henkel), the tobacco industry, chocolate producers and flower companies. Publishing houses (DuMont and Bertelsmann) also belonged to Walde Huth and Karl Hugo Schmölz circle of clients, as did international chemicals companies (Bayer), drinks manufacturers and department stores (Kaufhof and Horten).

Today the works of Walde Huth and Karl Hugo Schmölz appear as “cult” because the trend and depictions of the “unspoiled advertising world” of the 50s, 60s and 70s are rare and coveted today. Last and certainly not least, the photographs of the Schmölz + Huth studio (1958 – 1986) are also documents of design and everyday history, and an important part of the history of photography in Germany.