Louis Stettner
AMERICA
Louis Stettner (1922–2016) was a major twentieth-century photographer whose career spanned more than seven decades. His life and work reflect a lifelong commitment to photography as a means of understanding humanity.
Deeply influenced by war, transatlantic cultural exchange, and a strong sense of social justice, Stettner’s practice bridges American street photography and French humanism. His photographs are held in numerous major public institutions and museum collections worldwide.
In collaboration with the Man Ray International Association• SERIES •
New York / Paris
On the occasion of the 2026 edition of the InCadaqués Photo Festival, the International Man Ray Association presents an exhibition devoted to Louis Stettner’s transatlantic life between New York and Paris.
When he first settled in Paris in 1947, drawn by the energy of the postwar period and by humanist photography, Stettner developed a deep connection with the streets of the French capital and the people who inhabited them. Yet his life and career would never be rooted in a single place. Returning to New York in 1952, he continued his street photography while working in the press and advertising, before travelling extensively throughout Europe from 1959 onwards. In 1965, he settled once again in Manhattan.
Even after moving to Saint-Ouen in 1990 with his wife, Janet Iffland, Stettner continued to travel regularly between Paris and New York, keeping the relationship between the two cities alive in his work. Throughout these journeys, his photography remained deeply rooted in humanist realism : an attentive and empathetic way of looking, in which the photographer never remains at a distance, but engages fully with the people and the world before his lens.