On the cover photo
On the cover photo
Fred Stein
May 23, 2026
Fred Stein would surely have been delighted to see one of his portraits on the cover of a magazine. With this picture gracing LFI issue 4.2026, we are, however, over ninety years too late, as Le Rêve was taken in 1934. Even so, in terms of its visual language, the picture has lost none of the modernity it possessed back then.
A young woman lies on the grass with eyes closed. Is she sleeping? Is she sunbathing? The knitted swimsuit and towel beneath her shoulders point towards a moment of leisurely relaxation. She is wearing no make-up, her hands lie protectively on her décolleté, a cigarette rest between two fingers. Leaves and grass frame this peaceful scene. The perspective of the picture, however, is notably unusual. Fred Stein photographed the woman up close, and opted for a dynamic composition that rotated her body by 180 degrees. It is a modern perspective, shaped by the possibilities offered by the New Photography movement, which, from the 1920s onwards, replaced conventional visual compositions with a New Vision. Such configurations had also become popular in the fashion photography of the time. Can we assume that Stein was aware of these influences when he took this portrait in a Parisian park?
In any case, Stein would have had to hone his eye for visual composition in just a few months: photography had become more than just a pastime got the former amateur, as it was now set to provide him with a new livelihood. Nazi racist ideology and persecution in Germany had put an end to his legal career in 1933, and forced him to flee to Paris with his wife Lilo. This was where the Leica they had managed to salvage was to become the tool for a new start as a photographer. As he wandered through Paris, Stein began to discover the world with a photographic eye: with street shots, mundane moments, portraits and poetic motifs such as Le Rêve. Images he hoped to sell to magazines or use to draw attention to himself as a photographer. It was a tedious process.
Unfortunately, nothing is known today about the precise location, who the woman portrayed was, or how the picture came about. Peter Stein, who manages the Fred Stein Archive, believes that the women was “simply someone Fred encountered while strolling around and exploring the city where he had found a new freedom, a new profession and a new perspective.” When taking the photographer’s circumstances into consideration, this image conveys an even stronger sense of longing for peace, security and freedom. Thus, the portrait of the woman became a symbol for his own hope. A beautiful dream. It was not to last, however, as the political upheavals of the 1930s forced Stein and his family to continue their fight for survival, which eventually led them to the United States.
Ulrich RüterA young woman lies on the grass with eyes closed. Is she sleeping? Is she sunbathing? The knitted swimsuit and towel beneath her shoulders point towards a moment of leisurely relaxation. She is wearing no make-up, her hands lie protectively on her décolleté, a cigarette rest between two fingers. Leaves and grass frame this peaceful scene. The perspective of the picture, however, is notably unusual. Fred Stein photographed the woman up close, and opted for a dynamic composition that rotated her body by 180 degrees. It is a modern perspective, shaped by the possibilities offered by the New Photography movement, which, from the 1920s onwards, replaced conventional visual compositions with a New Vision. Such configurations had also become popular in the fashion photography of the time. Can we assume that Stein was aware of these influences when he took this portrait in a Parisian park?
In any case, Stein would have had to hone his eye for visual composition in just a few months: photography had become more than just a pastime got the former amateur, as it was now set to provide him with a new livelihood. Nazi racist ideology and persecution in Germany had put an end to his legal career in 1933, and forced him to flee to Paris with his wife Lilo. This was where the Leica they had managed to salvage was to become the tool for a new start as a photographer. As he wandered through Paris, Stein began to discover the world with a photographic eye: with street shots, mundane moments, portraits and poetic motifs such as Le Rêve. Images he hoped to sell to magazines or use to draw attention to himself as a photographer. It was a tedious process.
Unfortunately, nothing is known today about the precise location, who the woman portrayed was, or how the picture came about. Peter Stein, who manages the Fred Stein Archive, believes that the women was “simply someone Fred encountered while strolling around and exploring the city where he had found a new freedom, a new profession and a new perspective.” When taking the photographer’s circumstances into consideration, this image conveys an even stronger sense of longing for peace, security and freedom. Thus, the portrait of the woman became a symbol for his own hope. A beautiful dream. It was not to last, however, as the political upheavals of the 1930s forced Stein and his family to continue their fight for survival, which eventually led them to the United States.
Image: © Fred Stein
LFI 4.2026+-
LFI issue 4.2026 presents a comprehensive portfolio in its Leica Classic segment. More
City-Life-Portrait+-
The Fred Stein: City-Life-Portrait exhibition of the photographer’s life’s oeuvre remains on display at the Leica Gallery Wetzlar, until mid June, 2026.
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