Arthur Leipzig

American photographer (1918–2014)

Arthur Leipzig (October 25, 1918 – December 5, 2014) was an American photographer who specialized in street photography and was known for his photographs of New York City.^[1]^[2] In 2004, he won the Lucie Award for Outstanding Achievement in Fine Art Photography.^[3]

Career

Leipzig was born in Brooklyn. After sustaining a serious injury to his right hand while working at a glass wholesaler, Leipzig joined the Photo League where he studied photography, took part in Sid Grossman's Documentary Workshop, taught Advanced Technique classes for three years, and exhibited his work.^[3] From 1942 until 1946 he was a staff photographer for PM. He also studied under Paul Strand before quitting the League to pursue a career as a freelance photojournalist.

In 1955 Leipzig's 1943 photograph King of the Hill, depicting two little boys challenging each other on a sand heap, was selected by Edward Steichen^[4] for the world-touring exhibition The Family of Man at the Museum of Modern Art in New York, that was seen by 9 million visitors.^[5]

Leipzig was a professor of art and the director of photography at the CW Post Campus of Long Island University from 1968–1991.^[6] In an effort to build his department and enhance the quality of photographic techniques, Leipzig recruited two well known photojournalists, Louis Stettner and Ken Johnson (formerly a photo editor with Black Star) to his staff. He also recruited the now, highly regarded female photographer, Christine Osinski.

Leipzig contributed his work to many publications including Fortune, Look, Parade, and Natural History, while continuing to pursue his independent projects.^[6]

Leipzig died in Sea Cliff, New York on December 5, 2014, aged 96.^[7]

Exhibitions

Solo exhibitions

2005 Albin O. Kuhn Library Gallery, UMBC, Baltimore^[6]
2005–2006 On Assignment, Columbus Museum of Art, Columbus, Mississippi^[6]^[8]
2007 On Assignment: A Retrospective, Photographic Gallery, New York^[8]
2008 Arthur Leipzig: Next Stop New York, Suermondt-Ludwig-Museum, Aachen.^[9]
2009 Arthur Leipzig: Next Stop New York, Städtische Galerie Iserlohn, Iserlohn^[8]

Group exhibitions

2003 Looking for Leisure, Staley + Wise Gallery, New York^[8]
2005 Winter Selections, Gendell Gallery, San Francisco^[8]
2006 Right of Passage: Youth Culture from the Mid-Century, Howard Greenberg Gallery, New York^[8]
2007 New York, NY, Fifty One Fine Art Photography, Antwerp^[8]
2009 Sexy and the City – New York Photographs, Yossi Milo Gallery, New York^[8]
2009 Greenberg in Hamburg, Flo Peters Gallery, Hamburg^[8]
2010 Family of Man, Howard Greenberg Gallery, New York^[8]
2011–2012 The Radical Camera: New York's Photo League, 1936-1951], The Jewish Museum, New York^[10]

Collections

Leipzig's work is held in the following permanent collections:

Bibliothèque nationale de France, Paris,^[11]
Brooklyn Museum^[11]
National Portrait Gallery, Washington, D.C.^[11]

Publications

Sarah's Daughters: A Celebration of Jewish Women. Women's American ORT, 1988.
Growing up in New York. Boston: David R. Godine, 1995. ISBN 1567920519.
On Assignment with Arthur Leipzig. Boston: Long Island University Press, 2005. ISBN 978-0-913252-02-4.
Arthur Leipzig: Next Stop New York. Munich / New York: Prestel, 2008.

Awards

2004 Lucie Award for Outstanding Achievement in Fine Art Photography^[6]

References

^ "Interviews with ASMP Founders" (series) "Arthur Leipzig" (interview and transcript, 1990). American Society of Media Photographers. Archived from the original on June 17, 2019 – via Wayback Machine.
Re: Arthur Leipzig: Interview and transcript by Kay Reese & Mimi Leipzig (née Mildred Levin; 1923–2022; Arthur's wife). In 1996, the ASMP staff edited the transcript for online presentation and added supplemental biographic information.
^ Klein, Mason of the Jewish Museum, Manhattan; Evans, Catherine of the Columbus Museum of Art. The Radical Camera: New York's Photo League, 1936-1951. Yale University Press.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) LCCN 2011-20574; ISBN 978-0-3001-4687-5, ISBN 0-3001-4687-6; OCLC 711045632 (all editions).
^ ^a ^b Arthur Leipzig bio at The Jewish Museum
^ Sandeen, Eric J (1995), Picturing an exhibition : the family of man and 1950s America (1st ed.), University of New Mexico Press, ISBN 978-0-8263-1558-8
^ Edward Steichen (1879–1973), book intro and exhibition organizer; Carl Sandburg (1878–1967), prologue; Dorothy Norman (1905–1997), added text; Leo Lionni (1910–1999), book designer (1955). "U.S.A. Arthur Leipzig". In Jerry Mason (ed.). The Family of Man: The Photographic Exhibition. Published for the Museum of Modern Art by Simon and Schuster in collaboration with the Maco Magazine Corporation. p. 38. Retrieved May 16, 2022 – via Internet Archive.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link) Re: article about the book: The Family of Man. LCCN 67-31983; OCLC 1078813503 (all editions).
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e "Albin O. Kuhn Library Gallery Presents On Assignment: Photographs by Arthur Leipzig", UMBC News, 24 March 2005. Accessed 6 January 2011.
^ New York Times (The); Martin, Douglas (December 5, 2014). "Arthur Leipzig, Photographer of Everyday Life in New York, Dies at 96". The New York Times. Online ed. . Retrieved December 6, 2014. ProQuest 2212824507 (online; US Newsstream database).
"Arthur Leipzig, a Photographer of Everyday Life in New York, Dies at 96". Print → Late Edition (East Coast). December 6, 2014. p. 17 (Section A). ProQuest 1632454092 (print; US Newsstream database); ISSN 0362-4331.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j "Arthur Leipzig: Exhibitions", Photography-now.com. Accessed 6 January 2011.
^ "Arthur Leipzig: Next Stop New York - Fotografien Archived July 19, 2011, at the Wayback Machine", Suermondt-Ludwig-Museum, 2008. (in German) Accessed 6 January 2011.
^ https://archive.today/20121209133308/http://www.thejewishmuseum.org/onlinecollection/collection_results.php?artistlist=1&aid=7383
^ ^a ^b ^c Auction page^{[permanent dead link]}