Joel Sternfeld

Joel Sternfeld (born June 30, 1944) is an American artist using photography, as well as an educator and writer. He is known for his large-format color photography of contemporary American life. His work contributed to the establishment of color photography as a respected artistic medium. Sternfeld’s photography follows in the tradition of Walker Evans and Robert Frank. His images are often imbued with a sense of beauty and melancholy, capturing moments of hope, despair, and tenderness. Since the publication of his landmark book American Prospects in 1987, Sternfeld’s photography has intertwined conceptual and political themes, reflecting his engagement with history, landscape theory, and the passage of time.

He teaches at Sarah Lawrence College in Yonkers, New York.