On the Cover Photo
On the Cover Photo
Louis Stettner
May 19, 2025
Louis Stettner, Snack Bar, Central Waiting Hall, from the Penn Station series, New York City 1958; © Louis Stettner Estate
In this picture, the focus of Louis Stettner (1922-2016) and his Leica M3 lies on two men. He himself is standing in the snack bar of the station’s large waiting area. In front of him is a man in a suit who seems lost in thought, enjoying an after-work drink in the air-conditioned room. He is leaning against a large pane of glass that separates the bar area from the waiting area. Outside, another man, a sailor, is presumably also waiting for his train. The two men are standing close together but are separated by the glass and do not notice each other. The intimate stage is typical of the series Stettner photographed in 1958 in the imposing station building.
After initially taken pictures at Penn Station in 1946 and 1957, Stettner returned repeatedly there in 1958. “I also probably loved the place and what was happening there,” he remembers. “It was a spacious dramatic arena where people in the act of traveling went through a mixture of excitement, a silent patience for waiting and an honest fatigue. The place was a mixture of glowing white marble and mysterious dark caverns, where time seemed to stand still. I remember it being very easy and natural to take photographs. After getting routine permission, no one, absolutely no one, ever objected to their picture being taken. In fact, they were often very friendly. It was a long moment of peaceful creative quiet, but deep human drama. I was very happy, really exhilarated to photograph there.”
The images Stettner took in Penn Station thrive on the interplay of chance encounters and the abstract reduction of the surrounding architecture. They also represent a piece of New York’s contemporary and architectural history, as there is now little left to remind us of the former splendour of Pennsylvania Station. The old station was a Beaux-Arts building completed in 1910 by architects McKim, Mead and White, but was demolished in 1963 despite fierce opposition from the citizens of New York as well as many conservationists. “The place was made of marble, done with great love and care, and it gave a lot of dignity to people who wandered through it. It reassured people.” In an interview discussing the book, Stettner described his feelings about the station that replaced the old one: “You feel squashed, almost like an animal.”
The thing that makes Stettner’s pictures so special is his interest in people. Other photographers focused primarily on the magnificent architecture, but he saw the halls as a stage for the small everyday stories and dramas of life. A public place that always offered enough space for private moments. A paradox: “In what was then the biggest and noisiest place in town, we find the elegance of absolute solitude,” said American writer and essayist Adam Gopnik, commenting on Stettner’s images. This is exactly what Stettner captured in the motif used for the cover of LFI 4.2025.
Ulrich RüterAfter initially taken pictures at Penn Station in 1946 and 1957, Stettner returned repeatedly there in 1958. “I also probably loved the place and what was happening there,” he remembers. “It was a spacious dramatic arena where people in the act of traveling went through a mixture of excitement, a silent patience for waiting and an honest fatigue. The place was a mixture of glowing white marble and mysterious dark caverns, where time seemed to stand still. I remember it being very easy and natural to take photographs. After getting routine permission, no one, absolutely no one, ever objected to their picture being taken. In fact, they were often very friendly. It was a long moment of peaceful creative quiet, but deep human drama. I was very happy, really exhilarated to photograph there.”
The images Stettner took in Penn Station thrive on the interplay of chance encounters and the abstract reduction of the surrounding architecture. They also represent a piece of New York’s contemporary and architectural history, as there is now little left to remind us of the former splendour of Pennsylvania Station. The old station was a Beaux-Arts building completed in 1910 by architects McKim, Mead and White, but was demolished in 1963 despite fierce opposition from the citizens of New York as well as many conservationists. “The place was made of marble, done with great love and care, and it gave a lot of dignity to people who wandered through it. It reassured people.” In an interview discussing the book, Stettner described his feelings about the station that replaced the old one: “You feel squashed, almost like an animal.”
The thing that makes Stettner’s pictures so special is his interest in people. Other photographers focused primarily on the magnificent architecture, but he saw the halls as a stage for the small everyday stories and dramas of life. A public place that always offered enough space for private moments. A paradox: “In what was then the biggest and noisiest place in town, we find the elegance of absolute solitude,” said American writer and essayist Adam Gopnik, commenting on Stettner’s images. This is exactly what Stettner captured in the motif used for the cover of LFI 4.2025.
EQUIPMENT: Leica M3
LFI 4.2025+-
The Leica Classic portfolio of Louis Stettner’s work is found in LFI issue 4.2025. More
Louis Stettner+-
Born on November 7, 1922 in Brooklyn, New York. He began his association with the Photo League in 1939 which continued through the 1940s. After US military service he moved to Paris in 1947. In 1950 he won a Life competition for young photographers. Return to New York; alternated between both cities, before settling in Saint-Ouen near Paris in 1990. During the 1970s he taught at the Cooper Union, Brooklyn College and Queens College, NY. Numerous awards, exhibitions and publications. In 2001, the French government appointed him “Chevalier de l’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres”. Louis Stettner passed away in Paris on October 13, 2016. More
Louis Stettner, Snack Bar, Central Waiting Hall, from the Penn Station series, New York City 1958; © Louis Stettner Estate