It is uncertain whether a larger part of the work of the sports photographer and photojournalist will ever be shown anywhere at any time.In the past, there have been several exhibitions at which a significant section of his sports photography was shown. It is the photos of the Olympic Games that are considered the highlights of his sports photography.

In 1951, the first international “Photo and Cinema Exhibition” (PHOTOKINA) opened and Heinrich von der Becke was there. It was also his first exhibition on an international stage. Over the years, further exhibitions followed at home and abroad. The most important ones are compiled here.

  • 2024 / 2025

    Permanent exhibitions in the Grünau Water Sports Museum and at the Maifeldtribüne in the Olympic Park.

    There will still be a lot of water flowing down the Spree (as of 2022 - relaunch of the new website) until the announced permanent exhibitions with photos by Heinrich von der Becke can be viewed. Nevertheless, we would like to point this out at this point. When the time comes, you will find more details on this website or, if you wish, you can also contact the Berlin Sports Museum.

  • 8. Nov 2008 bis 29. Mar 2009

    "Picasso of the Camera" in the atrium of the former House of Sports

    Exhibition of the German Sports Museum Berlin
    (photo to follow soon)

  • 04. bis 30. Sep 2007

    "The Great Small Print" in the Halle/Westphalia City Hall.

    Two men stand in front of a wall with three large-format black and white photos from an exhibition. Between them, with a beaming smile, a woman, fashionably dressed.

    Exhibition on the occasion of the 10th anniversary of his death with particularly beautiful photos and selected photos of the Olympic Games from 1936 to 1972. (Photo: Mayor Anne Rodenbrock-Wesselmann welcomed Lutz von der Becke (left), who organised the exhibition together with Thomas Willaschek (right) from the Berlin Sports Museum, to the opening.

  • Oct 1988

    History of the German Sailing Association

    Sailing dinghy in a slanting position photographed from astern. One sailor sits far out on the side of the boat and holds the extended tiller. A second sailor rides the boat hard to the wind, leashed to the ship's side, standing on the port side.

    Photos by Heinrich von der Becke were part of an exhibition in the rooms of the Bank für Handel und Industrie, BHI Berlin

  • Mar 1988

    Heinrich von der Becke" at the House of Sports, Berlin

    On the left of the picture, a man in festive dress stands behind a lectern and speaks to a man, also festively dressed in a suit and tie, who is standing and listening intently to him. In the background, pictures of a photo exhibition on the wall. A young man in jeans and a sports jacket stands in front of one and listens with interest.

    His best photographs from 50 professional years. Photos from all areas of sport and from 15 Olympic Games. The Landessportbund Berlin made its rooms available for this exhibition. The laudator was Alexander Kulpok, the then SFB presenter of the "Berliner Abendschau" and later President of the Berlin Journalists' Association.

  • Jul to Sep 1984

    Photos from 12 Olympic Games

    At the start of the Olympic Games in Los Angeles at the Bosch Kitchen Studio, Berlin. Photojournalist Heinrich von der Becke shows selected photos of the Summer Olympic Games 1936 to 1976.

  • 5. Jun to 31. Jul 1972

    Olympic Games from Berlin to Munich

    A foursome with helmsman seen from the side fills the picture. The stern and bow are cut off. In the faces of the athletes, the effort is clearly visible in the clenched teeth. Only the first rower in the boat looks attentively and not quite as tensely in the direction of the wake. In the right-hand corner of the picture is the coxswain with his back to the viewer.

    Exhibition at the Landesbildstelle Berlin

  • 14. to 23. May 1972

    Olympic Games from Berlin to Munich

    Exhibition of the City of Frechen
    In the Olympic year 1972, Heinrich von der Becke's cross-section of 12 Olympic Games, captured on camera, seemed an excellent way to recall the unforgettable (but also the long-forgotten!). The photographer's empathy - coupled with his fantastically confident mastery of technique - shows us legendary figures of sport in the picture once again in their dogged struggle for points, metres and seconds.Schmitz, Mayor | Filz, City Director

  • Apr 1972

    Olympic Games from Berlin to Munich

    View of a photo presentation with five large-format black and white photos on the two walls of a corner of the room.

    Exhibition at the Landesbildstelle Hamburg

  • 17. Mar to 08. Apr 1969

    WORLD PRESS PHOTO 1968/1969

    Picture montage: Certificate with logo beige dot and circle on red square as well as various letterings. In front of it, bottom right, photo with 2 sport tandem riders.

    Annual competition for the press photos of the year and competition for the photojournalist of the year. Heinrich von der Becke was represented with the photo "Siamese twins on a tandem".

  • 27. Sep to 05. Oct 1958

    PHOTOKINA - International Photography and Cinema Exhibition

    Document with text and various signatures underneath as well as an embossed stamp

    In thanks and recognition for photographic achievement, exhibited at PHOTOKINA, Cologne 1958

  • 29. Sep to 07. Oct 1956

    PHOTOKINA - International Photography and Cinema Exhibition

    Document with text and various signatures underneath as well as an embossed mark on the upper right.

    In thanks and recognition for photographic achievement, exhibited at PHOTOKINA, Cologne 1956

  • 20. to 29. April 1951

    1st PHOTOKINA - International Photography and Cinema Exhibition

    Graphic: Logo with lettering on the left, next to it various text and below it various signatures. All on a greenish background.

    With the plaque in thanks and recognition for high-quality photographic achievement, exhibited at PHOTOKINA, Cologne 1951. On 20 April 1951, Federal Minister of Economics Ludwig Erhard opened the first international "Photo and Cinema Exhibition" (Photokina) at the Cologne Exhibition Centre with 340 exhibitors.

detailed articles about exhibitions

Two runners side by side shortly after the failed baton handover. The fallen baton is clearly visible in the lower right corner of the picture.
  • 11. November 2012

The Picasso with the Camera – Memories of the Sports Photographer Heinrich von der Becke

An exhibition at the Olympiapark Berlin. By Manfred Nippe. With a small exhibition in the atrium of the former “House of German Sport” on the grounds of the Berlin Olympic Park, the Berlin Sports Museum commemorates the work of the sports photographer Heinrich von...

Posted By Manfred Nippe
Two boxers in close-up, photographed from the side, face each other. The boxer on the left hits his opponent's nose with his fist. The boxer on the right hits his opponent's left eye and cheek with his fist. Both boxers are fully captured by the flash, the background remains black.
  • 8. January 2009

Sportmuseum Berlin – Picasso with the Camera – The Press Photographer Heinrich von der Becke (1913 -1997)

Thomas Willaschek in the Museums Journal It was 1929 when a young man applied for an apprenticeship at the old master of sports photography and co-founder of the Charlottenburg Sports Club, Max Schirner. Four years earlier, a Dresden uncle had given the then twelve-year-old...

Posted By Thomas Willaschek
Badminton player with laughing face in straddle jump in the air, shot frontally. Flash provides strong contrast between background and athlete in white sportswear.
  • 28. November 2008

Heinrich von der Becke – “The Picasso with the Camera” – Berlin Sports Museum Exhibits Works of the Sports Photographer

Prof. Dr. Detlef Kuhlmann Introduces The Berlin Sports Museum is currently hosting an exhibition documenting and honoring the works of arguably the most important sports photographer of his time: Heinrich von der Becke (1913 to 1997) is considered the “Picasso with a camera.” The...

Posted By Prof. Dr. Detlef Kuhlmann
Aerial view Large round stadium with open roof occupied by people
  • 11. November 2008

Exhibition “Heinrich von der Becke” in the Olympic Park Berlin 2008

Opening speech on November 8, 2008 in the atrium of the former “House of German Sports Dear ladies and gentlemen, dear Mr. von der Becke, dear Martina, dear Gerd, I see many old familiar photos with which I grew up in 50 years of...

Posted By Manfred Nippe