Born in Woburn, Massachusetts, in 1929, Zimbel got his first professional camera at the age of 14 and began photographing for a local newspaper. After studying at Columbia University, he continued to work in New York and became a key figure in the last generation of photographers faithful to the legacy of the Photo League, who in the 1950s imbued their pictures with their personal commitment towards the people and the social landscapes they documented. Influenced by Alexey Brodovitch and Photo League members John Ebstel and Garry Winogrand, his photographic essays have been published in various magazines and publications such as The New York Times, Look, Pageant, Saturday Review and Architectural Forum. During his military service in 1951-1953, Zimbel took pictures of the cities he passed in Germany, France, Italy and England, and documented upon his return the nightclubs of the legendary Bourbon Street in New Orleans, and life in the streets, the neighbourhoods, and of the children of New York. Zimbel photographed personalities such as Leonard Bernstein, Hellen Keller, and Mickey Rooney, alongside the presidents Harry S Truman (in the famous series A President in Retirement), John and Jacqueline Kennedy, Dwight D Eisenhower and Richard Nixon. George S Zimbel's commitment to 'straight' photography in an era of increased manipulation of the photographic image by computer technology has made him one of the few photographers to maintain this vision. He currently lives in Montreal and continues to produce new work and print previously unseen images from his archive. SELLING POINTS: ? Momento is set to coincide with the release of the documentary film of his life's work, Zimbelism, and an exhibition at the Montreal Museum of Fine Art. ? Includes a diverse range of subjects from portraits of Marilyn Monroe to politicians such as Eisenhower, Kennedy, Nixon and Truman, as well as snapshots of life in the streets of New York. ? Zimbel's work is well collected and included in prestigious collections worldwide including the National Gallery of Canada, Museum of Modern Art (MoMA), Tokyo Metropolitan Museum of Photography, The International Center of Photography in New York, Musee National d'Histoire d'Art de Luxembourg and Institut Valencia d'Art Modern (IVAM). 155 colour and b/w illustrations
