German-born Arnold Genthe obtained a doctorate in philology and linguistics before leaving Europe for San Francisco, where he opened a portrait studio in 1897. Genthe's studio and equipment were destroyed in the earthquake and fires of 1906, but his photographs of San Francisco's Chinatown survived and were published in 1908. He traveled widely before relocating to New York in 1911; there he established a thriving business making portraits of cultural and political celebrities. Genthe published Impressions of Isadora Duncan in 1929 and an autobiography, As I Remember, in 1936.