Aluminium Chairs, Paris, 1938
Café, Paris, 1935
Children Reading the Newspaper, Paris, 1936
Farmers in Field, France, 1938
Feet in Circle, France, 1938
Fish Platter, Brittany, 1935
Fisherman with Net, France, 1935
Flea Market, Paris, 1936
Hobo on Stoop, Paris, 1938
Joie, France, 1938
Le Rêve, Paris, 1934
Legs, Paris, 1935
Man with Bottles, Paris, 1938
Paris Jewish Quarter, Paris, 1935
Popular Front, Paris, 1936
Rabbi with Cane, Paris, 1935
Two Sailors at Harbor, France, 1938
Surf, 1937
Swing, Paris, 1934
Three Chairs, Paris, 1937
Three Men from Behind, Paris, 1935
Vallée de La Loire, France, 1936
Vendor, Paris, 1935
Window Washers, Germany, 1961
Two Women Lying in Sand, France, 1937
Coney Island, New York, 1946
At the Easter Parade, New York, 1946
Newspaper Hat, New York, 1946
Produce Stand, New York, 1946
Still Life, New York, 1949
Two Children with Dog, New York, 1941
Fred Stein
b. 1909, Dresden, Germany
d. 1967, New York City, New York
Fred Stein was a pioneer of Modern photography; during his lifetime he associated with such luminaries as Robert Capa, Henri Cartier-Bresson, Philippe Halsman, and André Malraux. Born in Dresden, in his early twenties Stein fled to Paris after the Nazis came to power in Germany. It was there that Stein bought his first camera, a small-format 35mm Leica, and became a photographer. His photographs from this period demonstrate his commitment to humanist values, especially his concern for the poor and the downtrodden. However, equally evident is his keen eye, and his ability to capture compelling compositions.
During World War II, Stein was sent to an internment camp outside of Paris; however, he managed to escape and hitchhiked his way to Marseille. From there, he was able to send a message to his wife Lilo, who was still in Paris, and together they escaped on one of the last boats to leave France during the war, ending up in New York. This continental shift, from Europe to North America, resulted in a comparable shift in Stein's subject matter. He began focusing his lens on the gritty, fast-paced underbelly of the American metropolis. And perhaps, due to his outsider's eyes, Stein was able to capture the quintessence of New York of the mid-century. When he died in 1967 at the young age of fifty-eight, photography was still considered an illegitimate art form. But in 1983, Willy Brant, the Chancellor of Germany stated, “[Fred Stein was] a brilliant photographer inspired by his quest for justice and his concern for truth so clearly reflected in his photographs. He was truly a man of vision, and his choice of people and subjects is the obvious proof of it.” Rosenberg & Co. represents the estate of the artist.
