Geoff Dyer: He toiled in obscurity – but now Saul Leiter is recognised as a true photography pioneer
In 1947, when the 24-year-old Saul Leiter first saw Henri Cartier-Bresson’s prints at the Museum of Modern Art in New York, photographers were content to be regarded as photographers. Today’s aspirational ideal is “artist” or “artist using a camera”. But if Leiter is a consummate artist that is because his talents were uniquely served by – and entirely dependent on – the camera in his hand.