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LEON LEVINSTEIN

1910 - 1988

BiographyLevinstein's work is born out of the tradition of American documentary street photography. In spite of his singular methodology, he worked within the traditional, straightforward aesthetic of photography. Inbued with an ethic inculcated by the Photo League-he felt compelled to act as a compassionate witness to the pervasive reality of the urban environment and give nothing less than an honest portrayal. Finding his inspiration in the ordinary, everyday human experience, his subjects at home were primarily the common man interacting in New York City and Coney Island. Levinstein traveled extensively to Mexico, Eruope, Haiti, India and Nepal, North Africa, Egypt and Israel. Although Levinstein claimed photography to be a vehicle for personal growth, he subordinated photography to his professional career in advertising. In the early 1950's, his work received some modicum of attention through inclusion in a series of exhibitions at the Museum of Modern Art. Although efforts were made by the medium's supporters in the 1970's to gain him wider appeal, those efforts were thwarted by the artist during his lifetime. Wider recognition and appreciation of his work only came after his death in 1988.

Source: Appraisal by Monika Half.
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Entered 5/15/07 by Lisa Horne, Graduate Student in Art History & Curatorial Studies, Spring, 2007.

Leon Levinstein was born in 1913, the son of Russian emigrants, who, unlike the thousands who settled in cities, chose Buckhannon, West Virginia, where they were the only Jewish family in town. Although Levinstein claimed never to have experienced overt prejudice, the feeling of being an outsider of not quite belonging, seemed to take root. He became interested in the arts as a teenager and after the Great Depression he enrolled at the Maryland Institute of Art. He was inducted into the army during World War II, and after his discharge in 1945, moved to New York. He studied painting with Stuart Davis at the New School for Social Research, and did not become interested in photography until he was in his mid-thirties. In 1948, he took a course with Sid Grossman at the Photo League, and for the next three years, attended his studio workshops.

Despite a rather shadowy existence, Levinstein was not without recognition. His work was included in nine exhibitions at the Museum of Modern Art, and nineteen of his prints were acquired for its collection, one of which was reproduced in John Szarkowski's book, THE PHOTOGRAPHER'S EYE. He had an exhibition at the Limelight Gallery in 1956 (his one and only one-person show during his lifetime) and was awarded a Guggenheim Fellowship in 1975. His work has since been included in several important exhibitions. Levinstein roamed the streets of New York with his camera, photographing street vendors, vagrants, children, and others. He is particularly well known for his series of photographs taken on Coney Island. His work neither ennobles the disenfranchised nor disdains the more fortunate. His people are simply people, each with his own humanity.

Gee, Helen. LEON LEVINSTEIN: [exhibition] May 31-June 29, 1990. New York: Photofind Gallery, 1990: 1-2.

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