LIONEL FREEDMAN

Photographer and Film Maker, 1919-2003

Lionel Freedman with strob equipmente units and a mobile lighting console that he designed and built for the studio, circa 1960s.Graduating Cum Laude from New York University School of Architecture and Allied Arts, Lionel Freedman started a career as a freelance location photographer for major architectural firms and home decoration magazines. In 1951 he opened a commercial studio in NYC where he designed, built, styled and photographed elegant room settings and still life for high-end advertising. He is known for the vibrant lighting and color quality of his studio photography and industrial films. Freedman designed and built much of his studio’s specialized lighting equipment.

  • Winner of 1966 US Golden Eagle Cine Award for the short film, ‘The Studio’
  • Winner of 1966 National Film and TV Festival of New York Gold award for ‘Best Color and Architectural Effects.’
  • Awarded 1966 Venice Film Festival Golden Mercury ‘Diploma Di Partecipazione.”

The Time-Life series “Life Library of Photography” devotes a chapter to Lionel Freedman in their book, ‘The Studio’.

Towards the end of his life Lionel Freedman devoted his artistic energies to the emerging field of computer graphics… or in his own words, “his ‘love affair’ and total addiction to the wonders of the Macintosh Computer.”

The Lionel Freedman Archives is managed by his daughter Laurie Freedman and his granddaughter photographer Maya Myers.  Please contact them for information and permission to get access to his work.

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