BIO:

Leon Levinstein (1910–1988) was an American street photographer best known for his work documenting everyday street life in New York City from the 1950s through the 1980s.

Born in Baltimore, Levinstein studied at the Maryland Institute of Arts (1927-1928).  Upon returning from the Army in 1942, he moved to NYC to work as an art director in an advertising agency.

From 1947-48, Levinstein studied with Sid Grossman at the Photo League and from 1948-1951 with Alexey Brodovitch at the New School for Social Research.

His work regularly began appearing in U.S. Camera Annual & Popular Photography magazine. In 1956, he was among six featured photographers including Richard Avedon, Wynn Bullock, G.E. Kidder Smith (an architectural photographer), Eugene Smith, and Brett Weston.

In 1955, Helen Gee, the founder of the Limelight Gallery (the first American gallery devoted solely to the exhibition and sale of photographs) began including his work in group exhibitions.  His first and only lifetime solo exhibition was in January of 1956.

In 1981, Gee was instrumental in arranging the sale of a substantial number of prints to the art dealer Harry Lunn.

Both Alexey Brodovitch, artistic director of Harper's Bazaar, and Edward Steichen, renowned photographer and curator at the Museum of Modern Art recognized Levinstein’s talent; Levinstein's photographs were included in nine group shows at the Museum of Modern Art. (Sources: wikipedia & Kirsti Svenning of ICP).

His works can also be found at photography galleries such as Howard Greenberg Gallery, NYC; Stephen Daiter Gallery, Chicago; Steven Kasher Gallery, NYC; Flo Peters Gallery, Hamburg; and more.

Awards:  Guggenheim Fellowship in 1975

Books:

Leon Levinstein: Steidl, 2014

Leon Levinstein: The Moment of Exposure; Robert Shamis, 1995

Leon Levinstein: That’s where the Life Is; Stephen Daiter Gallery

Collections (Partial):

The Art Institute of Chicago

ICP

MoPA

MoMA

Metropolitan Musuem of Art

New York Public Library

SFMOMA

And many more