Len Speier
1927 -
Archive contact: Len Speier (lenspeier@gmail.com)
Len Speier (American, b. October 11, 1927) was born and educated in New York City. He took and developed his first photographs as a thirteen-year-old, recording his experiences growing up in the Bronx. Drafted into the Army while attending City College of New York, he served in the First Cavalry Division on occupation duty in Japan. After graduating from CCNY and New York University Law School, he worked as a lawyer for several years before returning to photography. Practicing photography and law simultaneously, he began his life's work: documenting the people of New York.
Len Speier's work was first published in New York Magazine. He was a stringer for ABC Eyewitness News, photographing the correspondents in action on assignment. Over the years, he has photographed in China, Surinam, and across Europe, as well as in the United States. Affected by the spontaneity of Cartier-Bresson, the humanity of Dorothea Lange, and the verve of William Klein, Speier produces heartfelt evocations - often moving, sometimes funny - of place and sensibility. His work is included in the permanent collections of the Bibliotheque Nationale (Paris), the International Center of Photoraphy, the Museum of the City of New York, the Midtown Y Gallery, and the Photography Archive of the NY Public Library.
Speier's photos have been featured in gallery shows and published in various books, including Cityscapes (edited by H. Rock & D. Moore, Columbia University Press), Black & White Photography: An International Collection (Rockport Press), The Book Thief (Photo Jacket Cover for Macmillan Australia edition, Sony CD Audiobook edition, and French and Slovak translated editions), and City Play (Museum of the City of New York).
Speier was a teacher of photography for two decades and a photography mentor to gifted children of color under the ACT-SO project of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (1990 - 1999). Back on his feet after recovering from a major cancer surgery (2000) and a stroke (2003), Len is photographing once again, this time with lighter cameras and working in the digital realm. In 2006 he retired as tenured Associate Professor at the Fashion Institute of Technology, where he taught Photography and Law for the Artist (i.e., intellectual property) and related courses. He still lectures on these subjects.