LOT Phillips de Pury & Company  /  PHOTOGRAPHS PART II  / 

117

LEON LEVINSTEIN (American, 1913-1988) CONEY ISLAND signed

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LEON LEVINSTEIN (American, 1913-1988) CONEY ISLAND signed
LEON LEVINSTEIN (American, 1913-1988) CONEY ISLAND signed "Leon Levinstein" in pencil on verso artist's stamp in blue ink on verso Leon Levinstein Archive stamp with number "36" inscribed on verso "Coney Island, 1958, MOMA Collection, MOMA Show" inscribed in pencil on verso vintage gelatin silver print mounted on board 13 x 13 in. (33 x 33 cm) 1958 PROVENANCE Photofind Gallery, NEW YORK Private Collection, NEW YORK LITERATURE Peter Turner, ed., AMERICAN IMAGES: PHOTOGRAPHY 1945-1980, LONDON, 1985, p. 59 (illustrated) "Though many of [Levinstein's] street portraits bear witness to a deep understanding of isolation and loneliness, his own solitariness did not deter him from portraying scenes of intimacy or of the longing for human connection. On the contrary, it seems to have sensitized him to these moments and exchanges, much as the absence of physical intimacy in his life may have contributed to the charged energy that radiates from many of his photographs. The images range from tender embraces between couples or parent and child to interactions between the sexes" (Shamis, "Leon Levinstein: His Life and Photographs," LEON LEVINSTEIN: THE MOMENT OF EXPOSURE, Ottawa, 1995, p. 38). During Shamis' research of this undeservedly unrecognized photographer, he was told by Levinstein's friends that the artist had a deep love of children and a clear regret for not having a family of his own. This personal yearning is strongly illustrated in this intimate photograph of a family unit, as well as in his photograph presented as Lot 129. Levinstein's best images were taken in the Lower East Side, Times Square, and especially Coney Island, where people flocked to enjoy an environment of rest and play. Helen Gee described him as "a large man with a slow, shuffling walk, skirting the fringes, searching the crowd" (LEON LEVINSTEIN, New York, 1990, Photofind Gallery exhibition catalogue). His large build is often mentioned and one can only imagine how he created these spontaneous photographs without being noticed. He never used a telephoto lens and never sought the compliance of his subjects. According to his co-workers at Brown and Gravenson, where Levinstein worked as a layout designer, the photographer would set out from his apartment or his office at lunchtime wearing a tie and jacket and a hat regardless of the season. He would hold his Leica in his hand with the strap wrapped around his wrist and rest the Rolleiflex in the crook of his arm. He worked so quickly and anonymously, often without a light meter and with his camera focus preset, that he rarely aroused any attention at all. "Look like a tourist" was advice he gave to younger photographers. This specific photograph was taken with the Rolleiflex camera that produced its square format. The twin lens mechanics allowed Levinstein to point his camera sideways, while facing away from his subjects and looking down. As this tightly cropped image suggests, framing was a crucial element to Levinstein. Art critic Max Kozloff remarks on the state of disorganization his photographs were left in upon his death, lacking dates and titles, and inscribed with nothing but his stamp and/or signature. It is believed this was deliberate, as Levinstein believed "the images justified themselves on their own terms" (Kozloff, "Leon Levinstein and the School of New York," LEON LEVINSTEIN: THE MOMENT OF EXPOSURE, Ottawa, 1995, p. 45).
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