Wilhelm Simon Guttmann (15 November 1891, Vienna–13 January 1990, London) was a German writer, political commentator, and managing director of picture agencies and who inspired significant photographers including Robert Capa, Maria Eisner, Felix Mann and Kurt Hutton.
In 1912, together with David Baumgardt, Erwin Loewenson, Jakob van Hoddis and Robert Jentzsch, he was one of the editors of the posthumous poems of Georg Heym, published in 1910 and introduced in The New Club.
During the First World War he emigrated to Switzerland and belonged to the Zürich Dadaist circle in the Grand Café Odeon; together with Wieland Herzfelde he was involved with the Spartacists, before in 1920 he became one of the founders of the Communist Workers' Party of Germany.
In 1935, after emigrating to Paris, he sent his disciple Endre Friedmann (aka Robert Capa) who later became famous,[5] to Spain to produce reportage on the Civil War.
He set up Report and IFL in Oxford Street with Helen Warby featuring many photographers including Alan Vines, Romano Cagnoni, Patrick Eagar, Carlos Augusto, Stefano Cagnoni, Chris Davies, Mary Elgin, Bente Fasmer, Peter Harrap, John Harris, Tessa Howland, Alex Low, Rick Matthews, Nick Oakes, Angela Phillips, Mark Rusher, John Smith, Laurie Sparham, Derek Speirs, John Sturrock and Andrew Wiard amongst others, until his death in January 1990 aged 99 years.