Les cantonniers, Rue des Martyrs, Paris 9, 1950, 1987

Louis Stettner   Master Artists

Louis Stettner (born in 1922) is a famous American photographer whose work includes iconic images of Paris and New York. He was born and raised in Brooklyn, New York, but if installed in Paris in 1950, where he now lives with his family.

He has studied and taught at the Photo League prior to traveling to Paris after the second world war. He received his B.A. in arts, photography and cinema at the University of Paris.

Louis Stettner photography Paris and New York for over 60 years, capturing the cultural changes and architecturally sound of the two cities. Few photographers have such archives of these two cities (thousands of images), including both the historical images of the monuments the most famous of each city and moments the daily life of its citizens.

His work is of a natural quality impressive, as if he was trying to capture the ordinary, the life of all the days of his subjects. He was particularly interested in the life of the working class in each city and it shows a great sensitivity in the photographing with great dignity. A limited quantity of his work is devoted to still lifes and to images of landscape. In addition, his paintings and sculptures tend to be abstract and in striking contrast with its clear, vivid photographic images.

Now 80 years of age, he continues to photograph with great energy. Stettner also spent a lot of time carving and painting.