Ylla (1911–1955)

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Ylla (1911–1955)

Austrian-born photographer. Name variations: Camilla Koffler; Ylla Koffler. Born Camilla Koffler, 1911, in Vienna, Austria, to a Yugoslav mother and Hungarian father; killed Mar 30, 1955, in Mysore, India.

Studied sculpture in Belgrade; moved to Paris (1931), where she worked with photographer Ergy Landau as a photo retoucher; opened a studio in Paris specializing in animal portraits; commissioned to do photos for Julian Huxley's Animal Language (1938); moved to US (1941) and opened a studio in New York; published 10 books (1944–54), some for children; spent 3 months in Africa photographing animals (1952); traveled to India (1954); while photographing a bullock cart race, fell from the hood of a jeep and was killed. Nine more books of her photos were published after her death.