The Unseen Saul Leiter

The first sightings of newly discovered work from Saul Leiter’s abundant archive of colour slides

Now widely acclaimed as one of the world’s greatest photographers, Saul Leiter (1923–2013) remained relatively unsung until he was rediscovered by curators and critics in his early 80s, and his work has been drastically re-evaluated over the last two decades. Leiter’s images evoked the flow and rhythm of life on the mid-century streets of New York in luminous colour at a time when his contemporaries were shooting in black and white. His complex and impressionistic photographs are as much about evoking an atmosphere as nailing the decisive moment.

On his death in 2013, he left behind a collection of more than 40,000 colour slides, only a fraction of which had seen the light of day. This book showcases seventy-six newly unearthed images from that extraordinary photographic treasure trove, published here for the first time. Meticulously curated by Margit Erb and Michael Parillo of the Saul Leiter Foundation and supported by texts that explain how Leiter built the slide archive and how it is now being explored, catalogued and restored, this monograph will be a must-have for photography fans worldwide.

About the Authors:

Margit Erb is the founder and director of the Saul Leiter Foundation, which is dedicated to preserving Leiter’s art and legacy.

Michael Parillo is the associate director of the Saul Leiter Foundation.