Leon Levinstein: The Moment of Exposure

Johanne M. Pelletier is a Toronto-based archivist advisor.

Since 1967, the National Gallery of Canada has been adding to its
collection of photographs. There have been works by international
photographers Charles Negre, Eugene Atget, Lisette Model, and now Leon
Levinstein. The 88 photographs in this book are accompanied by two
essays. The first, by guest curator and Levinstein researcher Bob
Shamis, is titled “Leon Levinstein: His Life and Photographs.” The
second essay, a short introduction by Max Kozloff etitled “Leon
Levinstein and the School of New York,” places Levinstein’s work in
the context of the development of modern—particularly
documentary—photography. Shamis shows a strong appreciation for his
subject as documentarian and artist. Levinstein’s images, though not
widely recognized, are powerful, graphic, emotionally expressive, and
brilliant in their simplicity; the essays in the volume provide insights
into them without obscuring their underlying message.