In 2015 the New York Times declared Harold Feinstein “one of the most accomplished recorders of the American experience”, yet much of his photography is unknown. Born in Coney Island in 1931, Feinstein left school to begin photographing at the age of 15.  He became one of the most prominent figures in the vanguard of the New York City street photography scene, joining the famed Photo League when he was 17. At the age of 19, Feinstein’s work was acquired by Edward Steichen for the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA). He was included in shows at the Whitney Museum of American Art in 1954 and at the Museum of Modern Art in 1957. Feinstein also had a solo show at the legendary Helen Gee's Limelight Gallery in 1957. Despite this early success, Feinstein’s extensive collection of classic street photography, nudes, portraits and still life have seldom been exhibited. 

However, that is all changing. A renaissance of his remarkable work is currently underway as evidenced by the 2018 feature length documentary Last Stop Coney Island: The Life and Photography of Harold Feinstein, which had its world premier at DOCNYC to a sold-out crowd. Thanks to the continued success of the film, the acclaimed monograph, Harold Feinstein: A Retrospective (Nazraeli Press, 2012), and a growing number of solo exhibitions worldwide, Feinstein is finally beginning to receive the critical and public attention he so deserves.