Leonard Freed

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Leonard Freed (b. October 23, 1929, Brooklyn, New York - d. November 29, 2006, Garrison, New York) was a documentary photojournalist and longtime Magnum member.

Born in Brooklyn, Freed attended the New School and studied with the legendary art director of Harper's Bazaar, Alexey Brodovitch. In 1967, Cornell Capa selected Freed as one of five photographers to participate in his "Concerned Photography" exhibition. His career blossomed during the American civil rights movement, when he traveled the country with Martin Luther King, Jr. in his celebrated march across the US from Alabama to Washington.

This journey gave him the opportunity to produce his 1968 book, Black In White America, which garnered him considerable attention. Another landmark in Freed's career was his 1980 book, Police Work, which reported on New York City law enforcement.

In recent years, Freed continued shooting photographs in Italy, Turkey, Germany, Lebanon and the U.S. He also shot four films for Japanese, Dutch and Belgian television.

He died in upstate New York after a battle with cancer on November 29, 2006.

Freed's images continue to be used to evoke the gritty reality of life for the 'everyman'. His image being used for the Young Vic theatre's production of A Prayer for My Daughter (play) in 2008.