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City. Life. Portrait
City. Life. Portrait
Fred Stein
June 2, 2026
Fred Stein with Leica, 1937, from the exhibition Fred Stein: City. Life. Portrait, Leica Galerie Wetzlar 2026
“The Leica taught me photography,” Fred Stein (1909–1967) used to summarise his experiences and entry into photography. In 1933, the growing threat of anti-Semitic and political persecution forced the young law graduate and his wife to leave their native Germany and seek exile in Paris. It was there that a second-hand Leica – acquired by the couple as a mutual wedding gift – became an opportunity for Stein to generate and income and build a new livelihood. Stein, who was self-taught, quickly advanced to an exceptional street photographer as well as an excellent portraitist.
In 1941, the Steins (who by then had become parents of a young daughter) were once again forced to flee, following the German invasion of France. The family left Europe for New York, where Stein continued to focus on street photography. He was fascinated by the city’s architecture, though he also turned his attention to social documentary series. Looking back, his extraordinary ability to capture the essence, atmosphere and contrasting moods of two cities as different as Paris and New York is all the more apparent.
In addition to street photography, portraiture took on an increasingly important role in Stein’s work in New York. His vast archive – which today is maintained by his son, Peter (b. 1943) – includes over 1000 portraits, resembling a Who’s Who of the 20th century. His probably most widely-known portrait is that of Albert Einstein, captured in Princeton, New Jersey, in February 1946. Other prominent figures include Hannah Arendt, Marlene Dietrich, Georgia O’Keeffe, Salvador Dalí, Frank Lloyd Wright and Robert Frank, to name but a few. In his portraiture, too, Stein was primarily interested in authenticity, preferring to shoot in natural light and largely dispensing with elaborate staging and darkroom manipulation.
Fred Stein passed away at the age of just 58. Despite the diversity of his oeuvre and prolific publication of his work, he never received the level of recognition he deserved. The two exhibitions currently on view in Germany – namely Fred Stein: City. Life. Portrait at the Leica Gallery in Wetzlar and Fred Stein: Selected Works at the Noir Blanche Gallery in Dusseldorf (until June 13) – are small pieces in a wider effort to help Fred Stein’s work take its rightful place in 20th-century photography history.
Ulrich RüterIn 1941, the Steins (who by then had become parents of a young daughter) were once again forced to flee, following the German invasion of France. The family left Europe for New York, where Stein continued to focus on street photography. He was fascinated by the city’s architecture, though he also turned his attention to social documentary series. Looking back, his extraordinary ability to capture the essence, atmosphere and contrasting moods of two cities as different as Paris and New York is all the more apparent.
In addition to street photography, portraiture took on an increasingly important role in Stein’s work in New York. His vast archive – which today is maintained by his son, Peter (b. 1943) – includes over 1000 portraits, resembling a Who’s Who of the 20th century. His probably most widely-known portrait is that of Albert Einstein, captured in Princeton, New Jersey, in February 1946. Other prominent figures include Hannah Arendt, Marlene Dietrich, Georgia O’Keeffe, Salvador Dalí, Frank Lloyd Wright and Robert Frank, to name but a few. In his portraiture, too, Stein was primarily interested in authenticity, preferring to shoot in natural light and largely dispensing with elaborate staging and darkroom manipulation.
Fred Stein passed away at the age of just 58. Despite the diversity of his oeuvre and prolific publication of his work, he never received the level of recognition he deserved. The two exhibitions currently on view in Germany – namely Fred Stein: City. Life. Portrait at the Leica Gallery in Wetzlar and Fred Stein: Selected Works at the Noir Blanche Gallery in Dusseldorf (until June 13) – are small pieces in a wider effort to help Fred Stein’s work take its rightful place in 20th-century photography history.
ALL IMAGES ON THIS PAGE: © Fred Stein
LFI 4.2026+-
The Leica Classics portfolio in LFI 4.2026 is dedicated to Fred Stein, featuring some of his most outstanding works. More
Fred Stein+-
Born in Dresden, Germany, on July 3, 1909. On June 30, 1933, the successful law graduate was dismissed from judicial service for antisemitic reasons, and denied access to the second state exam. In August 1933, he married Liselotte (“Lilo”) Salzburg (1910–1997). The couple fled to Paris in October 1933, where Stein established himself as a photographer. 1938: birth of their daughter, Ruth-Marion. After the outbreak of World War II, Stein spent ten months in internment and labour camps. Lilo Stein managed to salvage a suitcase full of negatives and prints from Paris, and the family emigrated via southern France to the United States in 1941. 1943: birth of their son, Peter. 1952: American citizenship. Fred Stein passed away on September 27, 1967 after a brief illness. More
Fred Stein with Leica, 1937, from the exhibition Fred Stein: City. Life. Portrait, Leica Galerie Wetzlar 2026
Fred Stein: Albert Einstein, Princeton, New Jersey 1946, from the exhibition Fred Stein: City. Life. Portrait, Leica Galerie Wetzlar 2026
Fred Stein: Hole in Fence, Paris 1936, from the exhibition Fred Stein: City. Life. Portrait, Leica Galerie Wetzlar 2026
Fred Stein: Embrace, Paris 1934, from the exhibition Fred Stein: City. Life. Portrait, Leica Galerie Wetzlar 2026
Fred Stein: Legs, Paris 1935, from the exhibition Fred Stein: City. Life. Portrait, Leica Galerie Wetzlar 2026
Fred Stein: Little Italy, New York 1943, from the exhibition Fred Stein: City. Life. Portrait, Leica Galerie Wetzlar 2026
Fred Stein: Hydrant, New York 1947, from the exhibition Fred Stein: City. Life. Portrait, Leica Galerie Wetzlar 2026