Lisl Steiner (November 19, 1927 – June 7, 2023) was an Austrian-born American photographer,

photojournalist Photojournalism is journalism that uses images to tell a news story. It usually only refers to still images, but can also refer to video used in broadcast journalism. Photojournalism is distinguished from other close branches of photography (suc ...

, and documentary filmmaker. She was known for her photographs of political and cultural figures of the 1950s and 60s, including

Fidel Castro Fidel Alejandro Castro Ruz (13 August 1926 – 25 November 2016) was a Cuban politician and revolutionary who was the leader of Cuba from 1959 to 2008, serving as the prime minister of Cuba from 1959 to 1976 and President of Cuba, president ...

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, and

Henri Cartier-Bresson Henri Cartier-Bresson (; 22 August 1908 – 3 August 2004) was a French artist and Humanist photography, humanist photographer considered a master of candid photography, and an early user of 135 film, 35mm film. He pioneered the genre of street ...

Early life and education

Steiner was born in a Jewish family in Vienna, Austria, in 1927. Shortly after

Adolf Hitler Adolf Hitler (20 April 1889 – 30 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was the dictator of Nazi Germany from 1933 until Death of Adolf Hitler, his suicide in 1945. Adolf Hitler's rise to power, He rose to power as the lea ...

annexed Austria in 1938, she and her family emigrated to

Buenos Aires Buenos Aires, controlled by the government of the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires, is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Argentina. It is located on the southwest of the Río de la Plata. Buenos Aires is classified as an Alpha− glob ...

, Argentina. She studied art at the

University of Buenos Aires The University of Buenos Aires (, UBA) is a public university, public research university in Buenos Aires, Argentina. It is the second-oldest university in the country, and the largest university of the country by enrollment. Established in 1821 ...

and the Fernando Fader School of Decorative Arts.

Career

In her 20s, Steiner began working in documentary film. She helped produce some 50 documentaries for the foreign ministry of Argentina. Steiner's photojournalism career began around age 30, when she published a photograph of Argentina's president,

Pedro Eugenio Aramburu Pedro Eugenio Aramburu Silveti (May 21, 1903 – June 1, 1970) was an Argentine Army general and the ''de facto'' President of Argentina from 1955 to 1958. He was a major figure behind the ''Revolución Libertadora'', the military coup against J ...

for ''

Life Life, also known as biota, refers to matter that has biological processes, such as Cell signaling, signaling and self-sustaining processes. It is defined descriptively by the capacity for homeostasis, Structure#Biological, organisation, met ...

'' magazine. She went on to work for the Brazilian magazine ''

O Cruzeiro ''O Cruzeiro'' (initially just ''Cruzeiro'') was a Brazilian illustrated weekly magazine, published in Rio de Janeiro from 1928 until 1985, with the exception of the period from August 1975 to June 1977. History and profile The publication, subt ...

'', undertaking photo assignments around Latin America. In 1960, she moved to New York and began freelancing for ''Time,'' ''

Newsweek ''Newsweek'' is an American weekly news magazine based in New York City. Founded as a weekly print magazine in 1933, it was widely distributed during the 20th century and has had many notable editors-in-chief. It is currently co-owned by Dev P ...

,'' ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

,'' ''Life,'' and

Associated Press The Associated Press (AP) is an American not-for-profit organization, not-for-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association, and produces news reports that are dist ...

. That year, she photographed

during a famous visit to the United Nations. Her subjects from this time include artist

, US president

Jimmy Carter James Earl Carter Jr. (October 1, 1924December 29, 2024) was an American politician and humanitarian who served as the 39th president of the United States from 1977 to 1981. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party ...

, and the

state funeral of John F. Kennedy The state funeral of U.S. President John F. Kennedy took place in Washington, D.C., during the three days that followed his assassination on Friday, November 22, 1963, in Dallas, Texas. Kennedy's body was brought back to Washington after his ...

. In 2000, the Leica Gallery in Manhattan held a retrospective of her work.

Personal life

Steiner moved to

Westchester County, New York Westchester County is a County (United States), county located in the southeastern portion of the U.S. state of New York (state), New York, bordering the Long Island Sound and the Byram River to its east and the Hudson River on its west. The c ...

, in the early 1970s. A longtime resident of

Pound Ridge Pound Ridge is a town in Westchester County, New York, United States. The population was 5,082 at the 2020 census. The town is located toward the eastern end of the county, bordered to the north and east by the town of Lewisboro, by Stamford, C ...

, she spent 24 years living with her husband, psychiatrist Meyer Monchek, who died in 1992. Steiner died on June 7, 2023, at age 95.

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Steiner, Lisl 1927 births 2023 deaths American photojournalists American women photographers Argentine emigrants to the United States Austrian emigrants to Argentina category:Jewish American journalists Photographers from Vienna American women photojournalists University of Buenos Aires alumni

Early life and education

Career

Personal life

See also

References

External links