Handball Players, Houston Street, NY

Leon Levinstein was among a group of midcentury New York street photographers who found inspiration in their urban environment. Born in Buckhannon, West Virginia, Levinstein settled in New York after his military service during World War II and began working as an art director in advertising while practicing photography in his free time. Levinstein’s candid shots capture subjects who are often unseen or overlooked, those relegated to the fringes of society. Although he rarely took on professional photographic assignments—instead earning a living as a graphic designer—Levin-stein found recognition as a photographer, publishing extensively in magazines and exhibiting frequently at the Museum of Modern Art.