Sol Libsohn

Sol Libsohn (February 5, 1914 - January 21, 2001) was a self-taught, documentary photographer.[1]

Biography

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After graduating from City College of New York, he joined the Film and Photo League where he earned his living documenting paintings. In 1936, he co-founded the Photo League with Sid Grossman.[2][3] Libsohn was an important teacher at the League as well as a member and leader of numerous production groups.

In addition to freelance work for numerous magazines, he also was employed by Roy Stryker for the documentary project of Standard Oil Company of New Jersey (later Exxon), the Federal Art Project, and Princeton University, where he taught art and photography to disadvantaged youth in the Summer Program.[2]

Libsohn was a personal acquaintance of Romana Javitz, head of The New York Public Library’s Picture Collection from 1929 to 1968, who sought out his work for the Library.[4]

Libsohn died on January 21, 2001, in Princeton, NJ.[5]

Exhibitions

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  • The Family of Man, Jan 24–May 8, 1955, The Museum of Modern Art, New York
  • Image of Freedom, Oct 29, 1941–Feb 1, 1942, The Museum of Modern Art, New York

Collections

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  • Museum of Modern Art[6]
  • International Center for Photography[7]
  • Harvard Art Museums[8]
  • New York Public Library[4]

References

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  1. ^ Nasar, Sylvia (2001-01-25). "Sol Libsohn, 86, Photographer Who Captured Ordinary Life". The New York Times. Retrieved 2011-05-03.
  2. ^ a b Sol Libsohn bio at The Jewish Museum
  3. ^ "NYPL, Where Do We Go from Here?, Introduction". web-static.nypl.org. Retrieved 2020-03-27.
  4. ^ a b "Encore -- Libsohn, Sol, 1914". browse.nypl.org. Retrieved 2020-03-27.
  5. ^ The New York Times obituary: Sol Libsohn, 86, Photographer Who Captured Ordinary Life
  6. ^ "Sol Libsohn | MoMA". The Museum of Modern Art. Retrieved 2020-03-27.
  7. ^ "Sol Libsohn". International Center of Photography. 2016-03-02. Retrieved 2020-03-27.
  8. ^ Harvard. "Harvard Art Museums". www.harvardartmuseums.org. Retrieved 2020-03-27.
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