In My Room - a book of intimate photographs by Saul Leiter

 

Saul Leiter is known to many as one of the original New York street photographers, and notably one of the first to use colour film during the 1950's. What some may not know is that during his life he shot thousands of mono pictures of his wives, lovers and friends in his flat and small studio on East 10th Street.

In this excellent book "In My Room", with an introduction by Carole Naggar and afterword by Robert Benson, are shown a very small sample from this collection. In his afterword Benson writes "The women in these photographs are unguarded: they are naked, not nude......They are just out there, these women, frail, beautiful and deeply human." The intimacy with which Leiter worked is clear and palpable. The models are people he knows, and who trust him, which could explain why they were viewed as so private. Shot between 1952 and the early seventies they use natural light, which softens them and gives an almost accidental feel. 

They could be voyeuristic apart from the fact that we know they were shot with complicity from those involved. Many just show the preparations for everyday life. Others are more sensuous and personal. All feel as though you are being allowed into a small private world of tenderness. They could never be described as salacious. Rather they are uninhibited. The pictures are massively different from the very controlled portraits and fashion shoots he did for Harper's Bazaar, Elle, Vogue, Esquire and other top magazines with experienced models.

Some are almost abstractions which his use of black and white allows. many hold the feeling of his love for Japanese art, as he himself first studied painting.

In her introduction Naggar says "Leiter's nudes have a spontaneous and romantic quality, like the scattered pages of a diary, or stills from early movies.......Leiter's gaze is not that of the typical male: the women can be in turn shy, aggressive, or playful, but they are always partners and full participants in a give-and-take...". 

For anyone wishing to photograph women there are some wonderful lessons to be learned here about closeness and trust.

"In My Room" by Saul Leiter with an introduction by Carole Naggar and an afterword by Robert Benton is published by Steidl (ISBN 978-3-95829-103-4). 

An interview with Margit Erb of the Saul Leiter Foundation about the work can be seen here - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9yz-301syQ0