« No matter how intimate, how well you know a person, you can never tell how a portrait will turn out. Almost as if a human being is so complex, we can never hope to grasp him fully, nor can he or she ever hope to be aware of their total being.

There is also the relationship between photographer and his subject. No one looks at another person in exactly the same way. I wanted everything to come from him, his eyes, facial expression, his body.

One also hopes for the impossible, by some miracle the portrait will not only be alive with the person’s inner being, but also have significance for everyone else. In other words, the portrait takes on implications beyond the particular human being, becoming a universal statement. Something we needed but did not know it. » LS

Rose, On the Bowery, 1986 – Gelatin silver print © Louis Stettner Estate

Terry, On the Bowery, 1986 – Gelatin silver print © Louis Stettner Estate

Tom, On the Bowery, 1986 – Gelatin silver print © Louis Stettner Estate

Woodrow, On the Bowery, 1986 – Gelatin silver print © Louis Stettner Estate

Bob, On the Bowery, 1986 – Gelatin silver print © Louis Stettner Estate

Willy, On the Bowery, 1986 – Gelatin silver print © Louis Stettner Estate

Donny, On the Bowery, 1986 – Gelatin silver print © Louis Stettner Estate