Leonard Freed

“Ultimately, photography is about who you are. It’s the seeking of truth in relation to yourself. And seeking truth becomes a habit.” — Leonard Freed

Born in Brooklyn, New York, to working-class Jewish parents of Eastern European descent, Leonard Freed first wanted to become a painter. However, he began taking photographs in the Netherlands in 1953 and discovered his life’s passion.

In 1954, after trips throughout Europe and North Africa, he returned to the United States and studied in Alexey Brodovitch’s “design laboratory.” He moved to Amsterdam in 1958 and photographed the Jewish community there. He pursued this concern in numerous books and films, examining German society and his own Jewish roots.

Freed is perhaps best known for cataloging the American civil rights movement. The images he captured from that time mobilized society and preserved their efforts for generations to come.