Fred Stein - Out of Exile
A Refugee’s Response to Fascism
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© Fred Stein
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“I first met Fred when we were both refugees fighting the totalitarian Nazi regime through the rather poor means we had. In his time he was very much in the avant garde, a brilliant photographer inspired by his quest for justice and his concern for truth so clearly reflected in his photographs. He truly was a man of vision, and his choice of people and subjects is an obvious proof of it.”
-Willy Brandt, Chancellor of Germany A sense for the extraordinary moment animates the work of pioneering street photographer Fred Stein. He brought a Modernist eye, imbued with Socialist ideals, to his photographs of everyday life. Born in Dresden, Germany in 1909, his life was shaped by upheaval. He was the son of a rabbi, and an anti-Nazi activist from a young age, pursuing a career in law. When the Nazis came to power in 1933, his political activities put him in imminent danger of arrest by the Gestapo, and he escaped to Paris with his new wife, reinventing himself as a street photographer. |
One moment is all you have. Like a hunter in search of a target, you look for the sign that is more characteristic than all others.”
-Fred Stein
Paris in the 1930s was one of photography’s most exciting and innovative eras, a melting pot of émigré artists, combining ideas such as New Vision photography and Modernism, with the new technology of the Leica camera, that freed photographers to move around with ease and spontaneity. Fred Stein flourished in this environment; his work was a personal reaction to the Fascist threat rising in the world. He found inspiration in the face of oppression, capturing scenes of street life with clarity and sophistication of design, enriched by his deep humanity. Stein exhibited with fellow artists including Brassaï, Man Ray, Philippe Halsmann, and André Kertész.
When war broke out, Stein escaped incarceration and endured a hazardous clandestine journey through the French countryside to Marseilles. On May 7, 1941, along with his wife and infant daughter he boarded the S.S. Winnipeg, one of the last boats to leave France. In New York he continued his photography, adding the medium-format Rolleiflex camera to his repertoire. The strong graphics of the city inflected his photographs, and he retained formalist elements in his work, while his style continued to evolve. He joined the Photo League, and published several photo books. His pictures at this stage often prefigure the later New Documents/social landscape style of photographers such as Gary Winogrand, Lee Friedlander, and Robert Frank. As he grew older, he concentrated more on portraits; a notable example is his famous portrait of Albert Einstein. He died in 1967, before photography became widely recognized as an art form.
Peter Stein, noted cinematographer and former Professor of Cinematography in NYU's Graduate Film Program is available to talk about his father's work and life.
the monograph: Fred Stein, Paris New York, 2014 is available through Amazon
Number of photographs: 70
Rental fee: $6,200 for 8 weeks
-Fred Stein
Paris in the 1930s was one of photography’s most exciting and innovative eras, a melting pot of émigré artists, combining ideas such as New Vision photography and Modernism, with the new technology of the Leica camera, that freed photographers to move around with ease and spontaneity. Fred Stein flourished in this environment; his work was a personal reaction to the Fascist threat rising in the world. He found inspiration in the face of oppression, capturing scenes of street life with clarity and sophistication of design, enriched by his deep humanity. Stein exhibited with fellow artists including Brassaï, Man Ray, Philippe Halsmann, and André Kertész.
When war broke out, Stein escaped incarceration and endured a hazardous clandestine journey through the French countryside to Marseilles. On May 7, 1941, along with his wife and infant daughter he boarded the S.S. Winnipeg, one of the last boats to leave France. In New York he continued his photography, adding the medium-format Rolleiflex camera to his repertoire. The strong graphics of the city inflected his photographs, and he retained formalist elements in his work, while his style continued to evolve. He joined the Photo League, and published several photo books. His pictures at this stage often prefigure the later New Documents/social landscape style of photographers such as Gary Winogrand, Lee Friedlander, and Robert Frank. As he grew older, he concentrated more on portraits; a notable example is his famous portrait of Albert Einstein. He died in 1967, before photography became widely recognized as an art form.
Peter Stein, noted cinematographer and former Professor of Cinematography in NYU's Graduate Film Program is available to talk about his father's work and life.
the monograph: Fred Stein, Paris New York, 2014 is available through Amazon
Number of photographs: 70
Rental fee: $6,200 for 8 weeks
Official website: www.fredstein.com
Selected Press
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