Artist Feature: Saul Leiter (1923-2013) is one of the foremost photographers in the history of the medium, described as an iconoclast, he came to prominence in the early 50's through his use of color, showing that Black and white photography was not a sacred thing. - Usually I include a brief summary of the artist, their biography etc. but in light of Leiter's quote from an interview shortly before he died (in 2013), I'll keep the words to a minimum, and let the photos, his work, speak for itself... from me, it must be said though, it's hard to find a photo that I don't like.
Kissing, c.1954, Gelatin silver print
"You’re going to write about my work? Really, and I mean this, the less said the better."
---Saul Leiter {in an interview by Nigel Warburton, 2013}
New York, Harpers Bazaar
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“LEITER WAS PERHAPS THE MOST INTERESTING OF THE FIFTIES COLOR PHOTOGRAPHERS in his use of form…. The overriding emotion in his work is a stillness, tenderness, and grace that is at odds with the mad rush of New York street life.”
—The New Yorker
—The New Yorker
Shoes of the shoeshine man, 1951
Phone Call, 1957
Baseball, 1953
Snow in NYC
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Parade, 1954
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“I LIKE IT WHEN ONE IS NOT CERTAIN WHAT ONE SEES.”
– Saul Leiter
The TRAILER to the documentary film on Saul Leiter "IN NO GREAT HURRY: 13 lessons in life with Saul Leiter" (2012) :
After his death in November of 2013, the Guardian Newspaper described him as "one of the quiet men of American photography. A pioneer of colour... relatively unsung until he was rediscovered by curators and critics in his early 80s".
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"I much prefer to drink coffee, listen to music and to paint when I feel like it."
- As quoted in Saul Leiter (2008) by Agnès Sire
Reflection, New York, 1950
'Carol Brown, 'Harper's Bazaar'' c. 1958
Lanesville, 1958
Reflection-web
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Canopy, 1958
Footprints, NY City, 1950s
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Sack, circa 1948
Saul leiter. At Home, self portrait, ca. 1940
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Apart from photography, Leiter was also an avid painter, though I preferred to focus on his lens work here, but of course it's easy to see that he looked at the world with a painter's eye. The difference is simply the medium, painting with paint, or painting with light.
A link to some more of his photographs as well as his paintings (via the Howard Greenberg Gallery), HERE. "Sometimes I think I love painting more than I do photography. But I love photography." |
Saul Leiter, Untitled Self-portrait, c. 1950's ©
"A window covered with raindrops interests me more than a photograph of a famous person."
--- SAUL LEITER ---
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