Sol Libsohn, Roosevelt photojournalist, dies
Famous son lived in
Roosevelt since 1947;
taught photography
at Princeton University
ROOSEVELT — The borough said goodbye to a famous son on Jan. 21 when photojournalist Sol Libsohn, 86, passed away.
Libsohn, who was born in New York City and had lived in Roosevelt since 1947, about a decade after it was founded as Jersey Homesteads, died at The Medical Center at Princeton.
According to The New York Times, Libsohn "had a knack for using the camera to capture everyday life." He taught photography at Princeton University and was represented by the Howard Greenberg Gallery in SoHo in Manhattan.
A self-taught photographer, he went to work for President Franklin Roosevelt’s New Deal program, Works Progress Administration (WPA), in the 1930s. The program’s Federal Art Project was established in the depths of the Depression to help unemployed artists.
In 1936, Libsohn and his WPA colleagues founded the Photo League, an organization of photographers committed to the documentary style and examination of urban life. As part of his duties in the league, Libsohn taught photography at Princeton University, helping to guide a new generation of photojournalists.
Some of Libsohn’s projects included work with the Standard Oil Co. in which he captured the lives of the oil truckers on their cross-country journeys. In the early 1950s, he worked as a free-lance photographer for such magazines as Fortune and Ladies’ Home Journal.
Libsohn’s work was included in a highly regarded 1955 photography exhibit at the Museum of Modern Art in New York City titled "The Family of Man."
He was predeceased by his wife, Jean; a daughter, Laura Spiegel; and a brother, Alex. He is survived by a daughter, Sara Prestopino of Roosevelt; a companion, Bess Tremper; three granddaughters; and three great-grandchildren.
Memorial services were held Friday, Jan 26 at Roosevelt Borough Hall, under the direction of Glackin/Saul Funeral Home, Hightstown.
Memorial contributions may be made to the Fund for Roosevelt, P.O. Box 404, Roosevelt 08555-0404.
— Keith Hahn