Margit Erb & Michael Parillo – Saul Leiter: The Centennial Retrospective

Review by Gerhard Clausing •

Saul Leiter was an extraordinary individual who seems to be receiving more attention now than he did during his lifetime; he was averse to publicity and his style was ahead of his time. 2023 marked the 100th anniversary of his birth, and this substantial photobook, edited by Erb and Parillo, principals of the Leiter Foundation, gives us a more comprehensive overview of his talents and prolific output. Especially impressive is the understanding we are able to gain of the integrated and consistent artist that Leiter was.

This large-format book is divided into five parts: 1. Beginnings 2. On the Street 3. Fashion 4. Painting 5. Intimate Views. Sample pages from each section are shown below. This sectioning is not meant to imply that these were distinct divisions of his life, but rather to highlight areas of expertise which previously may not have been emphasized specifically. Each part of the book is accompanied by an insightful essay that helps us gain a deeper understanding of the artist and his work, and it becomes clear that Leiter was simultaneously involved in several areas of art throughout his life.

Leiter was a master of color, precipitation, blur, and reflection, both in his painting and in his photography. His early Talmudic schooling had given him an understanding of inquiry and interpretation; from his father’s vast library he gained a sense of the possibilities of a bigger world before he left Pittsburgh and his family of origin. They had less of an appreciation of artistic endeavors than he did, and after all, the mecca of art was big New York City, where he worked for the rest of his life.

When we look at each of the book sections representing his art output, we are struck by the fact that all the images show a certain quiet reflection, the pondering of the moment within the vast metropolitan area that New York represents. As Adam Harrison Levy says in his essay, Leiter was able to capture “a complicated mixture of vulnerability, tenderness and strength in his subjects” that we now find allowed him to outlast and overtake his contemporaries. Greenberg states that Leiter’s genius involved the ability to present a balance of abstraction and realism in the same images, and thus to achieve a wholeness that is lacking in the work of many others. The images of life on the street make us reflect on the meaning of everyday occurrences within a larger context.

His fashion photographs also show his deliberate and slow way of proceeding. He was more interested in showing mystery and ambiguity, unlike the style of fashion photography that was prevalent at the time, represented by people like Avedon, characterized by a certain confidence, assurance, and energy on the part of the female models. While Leiter was out of step with the fashion industry styles of his time, we find his images very appealing now. His approach to fashion photography was very similar to his approach to street photography, as you can see in the samples below.

The section on painting is particularly interesting, since it shows his use of colors and his nuanced way of juxtaposing them. He did it more than 4000 small paintings over a period of some 70 years. 80% of these were abstract in nature, and they show his subtle ways of using color that is also evident in his color photographs.

The section featuring intimate views of his women acquaintances is also quite interesting. This work was to be featured in a book that never was published, and it shows the most representational visualizations by Leiter as well as combinations with abstracts, including paintings, that feature his integrated views, consonant with the rest of his work.

There is a lot more than can be shown in a brief review, so get a hold of this comprehensive photobook and study the many enjoyable examples of Leiter’s engrossing way of seeing the world.

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The PhotoBook Journal also featured a review of a related project, Saul Leiter: In Stillness by Yumiko Izu.

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Gerhard Clausing, PhotoBook Journal Editor, is an author and artist from Southern California.

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Margit Erb & Michael Parillo – Saul Leiter: The Centennial Retrospective

Photographer: Saul Leiter (1923-2013; born in Pittsburgh, died in New York City)

Essays and Texts: Michael Parillo, Adam Harrison Levy, Michael Greenberg, Lou Stoppard, Asa Hiramatsu, Margit Erb

Language: English

Hardbound with illustrated partial wrap; 352 pages, paginated, with 340 images; 10.25 x 12.25 inches (26 x 31 cm); printed and bound in China by C&C Offset Printing Co. Ltd; ISBN 978-0-500-54557-7

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Articles and photographs published in the PhotoBook Journal may not be reproduced without the permission of the PhotoBook Journal staff and the photographer(s). All images, texts, and designs are under copyright by the authors and publishers.