Herman Leonard
1923 – August 14, 2010
Herman Leonard was an American photographer who is revered for the countless iconic photos he took of jazz musicians throughout his career. After graduating from college, Leonard landed an apprenticeship where he was lucky enough to shoot pictures of Albert Einstein and Harry Truman. By the early ’50s, he was running his own Greenwich Village studio and freelancing for national magazines. By then he had turned his focus on the local jazz scene. His most famous photographs include those of Dexter Gordon, Miles Davis, Charlie Parker, and Billie Holiday. In 2005, Leonard and his family were living in New Orleans when they lost their house, his studio and thousands of prints to Hurricane Katrina. Fortunately, most of his negatives were being housed elsewhere. His collection is now part of the Smithsonian Museum. Herman Leonard was 87 when he passed away on August 14, 2010.
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