Gary Davis collection of Leon Levinstein photographs, 1950s-1970s

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Summary

Creator:
Levinstein, Leon, 1910-1988
Abstract:
Collection consists of 38 black-and-white photographs taken by Leon Levinstein from the 1950s to the 1970s. The images, usually taken at close range and at unusual angles, portray children, women, and men of all races and backgrounds - many of them marginalized - on New York City streets and on the beach. Locations include Harlem, Manhattan, the Lower East Side, and Coney Island. There are also photographs of people in Haiti. and a few from India and Mexico. Most of the unmounted gelatin silver prints measure approximately 11x14 inches, with several larger prints. Acquired as part of the Archive of Documentary Arts at Duke University.
Extent:
1.5 Linear Feet (3 boxes)
Language:
Materials in English.
Collection ID:
RL.11358

Background

Scope and content:

Collection consists of 38 black-and-white photographs taken by Leon Levinstein from the 1950s to the 1970s. The images, usually taken at close range and at unusual angles, portray children, women, and men of all races and backgrounds - many of them marginalized - on New York City streets and on the beach. Locations include Harlem, Manhattan, the Lower East Side, and Coney Island. There are also photographs of people in Haiti. and a few from India and Mexico. Only one scene, a piano in a room, has no people in it.

Levinstein deliberately left his images untitled and undated, thus most prints in this inventory are accompanied by content descriptions created by a collector or dealer, or, in a few cases, by library staff. Almost all the prints bear a photographer's stamp on the back and a few are signed by Levinstein. Most of the prints measure approximately 11x14 inches, with a few larger prints; in the dimensions given, height precedes width.

Acquired as part of the Archive of Documentary Arts at Duke University.

Biographical / historical:

Leon Levinstein (1910-1988) was an American photographer and graphic designer based in New York City. Born in West Virginia, he moved to New York to work in an advertising firm, and studied photography at the New School of Social Research and with the New York Photo League. Most of his time was spent walking the streets of New York City, taking candid shots of people and their surroundings. His work slowly gained wide recognition, and was featured in group shows at the Museum of Modern Art, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and Limelight Gallery, as well as in many major photography publications. He received a Guggenheim Fellowship in 1975.

Acquisition information:
The Gary Davis collection of Leon Levinstein photographs were received by the David M. Rubenstein Rare Book Manuscript Library as a gift from Gary Davis in 2016 and 2017.
Processing information:

Processed and encoded by Paula Jeannet, January 2017 and February 2018.

Accession(s) represented in this finding aid: 2016-0322 and 2017-0202.

Physical facet:
38 prints
Rules or conventions:
Describing Archives: A Content Standard

Contents

Using These Materials

Using These Materials Links:

Using These Materials

Restrictions:

Collection is open for research. Images may only be used for educational, non-commercial purposes.

Researchers must register and agree to copyright and privacy laws before using this collection.

All or portions of this collection may be housed off-site in Duke University's Library Service Center. The library may require up to 48 hours to retrieve these materials for research use.

Please contact Research Services staff before visiting the David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library to use this collection.

Terms of access:

The copyright interests in this collection have not been transferred to Duke University. For more information, consult the copyright section of the Regulations and Procedures of the David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library.

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Preferred citation:

[Identification of item], Gary Davis collection of Leon Levinstein photographs, David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library, Duke University.