One of the best-known photographers of the Jewish community, Peter Fisher, died this week, aged 84. Born in Budapest into a traditional, rather than observant, Jewish family, Peter and his brother George were profoundly musical. George became a conductor, whose first wife was the singer Lucia Popp.
Peter himself was a film cameraman in Hungary, and left the country during the 1956 uprising. Once in Britain he was unable to resume his profession without a union card, so moved instead into stills photography. One of his most famous subjects was the actress Jayne Mansfield, whose visit to Peter’s studio stopped traffic in the local streets as fans craned to see her.
A sensitive and thoughtful photographer, he often surprised and delighted his subjects by turning an apparently mundane community event into a small piece of art. His picture of Rabbi Ephraim Mirvis and his wife Valerie, taken before the rabbi was inducted at Finchley United Synagogue, captures perfectly the Peter Fisher essence.