Saul Leiter

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States, 1923 - New York, United States, 2013

            Saul Leiter captivated the world with his unique approach to photography. Although he studied painting at the Pratt Institute in Brooklyn, he soon fell in love with photography and moved to New York to explore his passion. It was there that he met Richard Pousette-Dart, the abstract expressionist painter who had recently begun exploring photography. Pousette-Dart introduced him to W. Eugene Smith, the photojournalist who encouraged him to pursue photography as a medium alongside his painting. Smith would later introduce him to other influential street photographers, including Robert Frank, William Klein, and Diane Arbus, members of the movement often referred to as the New York School of Photography.

            Leiter initially worked predominantly in monochrome, doing both street photography and portraits, but he was one of the first to embrace color. The streets surrounding his home in Manhattan were almost exclusively the subject of his personal work. It is for these images that he is best known, and where perhaps his interest in painting and the abstract is most evident; he frequently shot through windows, surfaces filtered by rain, steam, or faint reflections. He used shadows, unusual angles, and often a telephoto lens to achieve compression, a contrast to the wide-angle style preferred by many street photographers.

            Throughout his career, Leiter also ventured into fashion photography, collaborating with iconic magazines such as Harper's Bazaar and Vogue. His unconventional style added a new dimension to the fashion industry, challenging established norms and showcasing a fresh and authentic vision. Although his work was recognized later in his life, Saul Leiter's legacy continues to inspire artists and photographers around the world. His ability to find beauty in the everyday and his unique approach to photography make him a prominent figure in the history of 20th-century visual art.