Tom Blau was born to Jewish Hungarian parents in Berlin, Germany in 1912. In 1935, while visiting London, Blau's workplace in Berlin was closed down by the Nazi regime, forcing him to remain abroad; he later founded his photography agency, Camera Press. Through his work as a renowned photographer and agent, Blau established close personal and professional ties with celebrities and members of the British royal family.
Photographer and photography agent Tom Blau was born to Hungarian parents Sirica and Lyosh Blau in Berlin, Germany in 1912. His family had migrated from Austria-Hungary to Berlin after his elder sister, Rose, was born. Blau’s father was a plumber and his mother a talented cook who smuggled food from the Hungarian countryside during the British Navy blockades in Germany during the First World War. Tragically, having fallen into debt, Blau’s father committed suicide when his son was only 12. On behalf of his mother, Blau was responsible for speaking to his late father’s creditors and to income tax officers to arrange repayments. He excelled at school and was introduced to the head of the Berlin branch of Worldwide Photos (the photographic department of the New York Times) by Hungarian historian and journalist, Ladislas Farago. Blau subsequently worked for Worldwide Photos as a caption writer. In 1935 Blau visited London to stay with a relative, and while he was abroad the Nazis closed down Worldwide's Berlin office, causing him to stay.
The New York Times supported Blau's application to the Home Office to work in the UK as a freelance photo researcher. He also researched for other press agencies and, responsible for financially supporting his mother and sister in Berlin, in 1937 he accepted the offer of permanent work with Keystone, a press agency run by Hungarian émigré, Bert Garai. At the end of 1938 Blau was headhunted by a representative for Hollywood cinematographer Lee Garmes, who wanted to establish an independent photographic agency in London. Earning £9 per week, Blau accepted the role and ran Pictorial Press on Garmes’ promise that he would be made partner if the company was successful. One of Blau’s significant collaborations at Pictorial Press was with Armenian-born Canadian photographer Yousef Karsh, and in 1943 they worked together taking photographic portraits at the Savoy Hotel, retreating to the Hotel’s basement during air raids. Blau offered logistical and moral support, as well as background information on Karsh’s sitters, who included King George VI and Princess Elizabeth, and Lord and Lady Mountbatten. Garmes did not keep his promise to offer Blau a partnership at Pictorial Press, however, and so Blau left the agency in 1947, the year he was naturalised as a British citizen. With £2,000 Blau set up a new agency in London, Camera Press, financially supported by the large family of his wife, Doris Chapman, who lent their life savings (Blau repaid the loan in full within 12 months). Camera Press originally operated from the basement of the Blaus' block of flats in Russell Court, which had been built as a bomb shelter during the war. Karsh followed Blau to Camera Press, confident in his ability to make a success of the business. One of Camera Press’ first projects was to send the photographs of the wedding of Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, taken by society photographer Baron, to international news agencies. The assignment signalled the beginning of a close relationship between Camera Press and the British royal family. The agency also attracted many notable collaborations with renowned photographers such as Cecil Beaton, Norman Parkinson, Terry O’Neil, and Antony Armstrong-Jones (later Lord Snowden). Camera Press temporarily took over the lease of Armstrong-Jones’ studio at 20 Pimlico Road, London, SW1, in the 1950s. As his agent, Blau visited Lord Snowden and his then-wife, Princess Margaret, at Kensington Palace on numerous occasions after 1960.
In addition to working as a photographic agent, Blau was himself an accomplished photographer for Camera Press. His photographs were published in many periodicals including Woman, Woman’s Own, Every Woman, Beauty, Woman’s Weekly, and Woman’s Journal. He also shot regularly for the Illustrated London News and London Life. Blau pioneered the concept of the 'at-home' shoot, for instance photographing actors Vivien Leigh and Laurence Olivier at their Chelsea home in 1951. He also photographed other famous figures including musicians, John Lennon and Yoko Ono in 1969, actor Peter Sellers in 1970, and writer Iris Murdoch in 1979. He wrote and published In and Out of Focus with Elm Tree in 1983, a detailed story of his life and work.
Tom Blau died in London, England in 1984. The Tom Blau Gallery was set up by Camera Press in memory of its founder. Blau’s granddaughter, photographer Emma Blau, took over as Director of Camera Press in 2004 and has curated several exhibitions using material from the agency’s archives, including Camera Press at 70 at Art Bermondsey Project Space, London (2017). Camera Press continues to represent established photographers, to take on notable clients, and to hold Blau's archive. Blau's photographs are held in UK public collections, including the Royal Collection Trust and the National Portrait Gallery, which presented his photographs in Born 1947: Camera Press at 60 in 2007–08.