Frank Oscar Larson from NYC – Another Street Photography Master Discovered

by Eric Kim on May 19, 2011

1x1.trans Frank Oscar Larson from NYC Another Street Photography Master Discovered
1x1.trans Frank Oscar Larson from NYC Another Street Photography Master Discovered

Frank Oscar Larson

I was recently on PetaPixel and they did a great story featuring another undiscovered master street photographer named Frank Oscar Larson. In the 1950′s he worked as an auditor in Queens and had a great knack of capturing beautiful moments in everyday life with his Rolleiflex camera. In 1964 he died of a stroke at the age of 68 and his images laid dormant for 45 years before being discovered by his son’s widow in 2009.

His images are incredibly inspiring, and show a candid look into life in NYC nearly half a century ago. It seems recently there has been a handful of unknown master street photographers popping up recently, especially the likes of Vivian Maier. Read more to see his inspirational images.

1x1.trans Frank Oscar Larson from NYC Another Street Photography Master Discovered

1x1.trans Frank Oscar Larson from NYC Another Street Photography Master Discovered

1x1.trans Frank Oscar Larson from NYC Another Street Photography Master Discovered

1x1.trans Frank Oscar Larson from NYC Another Street Photography Master Discovered

1x1.trans Frank Oscar Larson from NYC Another Street Photography Master Discovered

1x1.trans Frank Oscar Larson from NYC Another Street Photography Master Discovered

1x1.trans Frank Oscar Larson from NYC Another Street Photography Master Discovered

1x1.trans Frank Oscar Larson from NYC Another Street Photography Master Discovered

1x1.trans Frank Oscar Larson from NYC Another Street Photography Master Discovered

1x1.trans Frank Oscar Larson from NYC Another Street Photography Master Discovered

1x1.trans Frank Oscar Larson from NYC Another Street Photography Master Discovered

1x1.trans Frank Oscar Larson from NYC Another Street Photography Master Discovered

1x1.trans Frank Oscar Larson from NYC Another Street Photography Master Discovered

1x1.trans Frank Oscar Larson from NYC Another Street Photography Master Discovered

1x1.trans Frank Oscar Larson from NYC Another Street Photography Master Discovered

1x1.trans Frank Oscar Larson from NYC Another Street Photography Master Discovered

1x1.trans Frank Oscar Larson from NYC Another Street Photography Master Discovered

1x1.trans Frank Oscar Larson from NYC Another Street Photography Master Discovered

1x1.trans Frank Oscar Larson from NYC Another Street Photography Master Discovered

1x1.trans Frank Oscar Larson from NYC Another Street Photography Master Discovered

1x1.trans Frank Oscar Larson from NYC Another Street Photography Master Discovered

1x1.trans Frank Oscar Larson from NYC Another Street Photography Master Discovered

1x1.trans Frank Oscar Larson from NYC Another Street Photography Master Discovered

1x1.trans Frank Oscar Larson from NYC Another Street Photography Master Discovered

1x1.trans Frank Oscar Larson from NYC Another Street Photography Master Discovered

1x1.trans Frank Oscar Larson from NYC Another Street Photography Master Discovered

1x1.trans Frank Oscar Larson from NYC Another Street Photography Master Discovered

1x1.trans Frank Oscar Larson from NYC Another Street Photography Master Discovered

1x1.trans Frank Oscar Larson from NYC Another Street Photography Master Discovered

1x1.trans Frank Oscar Larson from NYC Another Street Photography Master Discovered

1x1.trans Frank Oscar Larson from NYC Another Street Photography Master Discovered

1x1.trans Frank Oscar Larson from NYC Another Street Photography Master Discovered

1x1.trans Frank Oscar Larson from NYC Another Street Photography Master Discovered

1x1.trans Frank Oscar Larson from NYC Another Street Photography Master Discovered

1x1.trans Frank Oscar Larson from NYC Another Street Photography Master Discovered

1x1.trans Frank Oscar Larson from NYC Another Street Photography Master Discovered

1x1.trans Frank Oscar Larson from NYC Another Street Photography Master Discovered

1x1.trans Frank Oscar Larson from NYC Another Street Photography Master Discovered

1x1.trans Frank Oscar Larson from NYC Another Street Photography Master Discovered

Self-portrait of Frank Oscar Larson

Images via The Perfect Exposure Gallery

So what do you think about Frank Oscar Larson’s images? Leave a comment below!

Tagged as: frank oscar larson, new york, street photography

  • Mark Parry

    Amazing. Reminds me of the images from a book I picked up recently in a charity shop called “The Century in Times Square” which contained images from the New York Times across the 20th Century. This guy’s images are every bit as good. Weird how someone with such a talent didn’t pursue it…

    …I also read a great quote to that affect today “It’s amazing how many of life’s failures are made by people who didn’t know how close they were to making it…” or something like that :-)

    • http://4thislife.blogspot.com Margaret

      I believe this is the quote you referred to:

      “Many of life’s failures are people who did not realize how close they were to success when they gave up.” Thomas A. Edison

  • http://www.flickr.com/photos/rsimpson/ Rob Simpson

    It’s great to see another cache of photos turn up. It’s too bad he wasn’t recognized in his time for the work that he did, but I think it shows an interesting side to street photography: street photographers are trying to capture art for arts sake. It’s not about money or recognition… It’s about capturing a moment in time and enjoying it for its own sake and not personal gain. To me that’s real art.

  • http://www.fokkomuller.nl fomu

    great shots! and i think there are thousands of undiscovered masters of street photography. i see their photos every day on Flickr :)

  • chispa

    So many details in every picture to look at and recall about days gone past. The final self portrait, a shot from the hip. I bet if you could find the store where the self portrait was taken, you could still see Mr. Larsons’ reflection in the window.

  • http://www.flickr.com/photos/lempkin/ Lempkin

    I recognize the Queens shots, particularly those that were taken at Astoria Park, and the feeling of nostalgia that waved over me would be difficult to overstate. About a month ago, I came across a video clip about Frank Larson on Youtube (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6B2mNji58Ps) and as a New Yorker, I found it fascinating, especially as it coincided with the discovery of the Vivian Maier photos. Fabulous work, both of them.

  • http://Www.wanderinglulu.com Ewanglee

    Amazing shots. I like Parry’s quote of a quote regarding failures and being so lose and yet so far away. I hope that with our internet age and digital media, everyone who has talent will have a better chane of enjoying the fruits of their creativity. FYI, Vivian Maier’s work will be coming to LA in January 2012.

  • http://calm7clear.tistory.com John Kim

    Wow, all images are amazing! Actually, it would be very interesting to see works from Vivian Maier with these shots together. Thanks for sharing excellent photographs!

  • http://www.mikecrippen.co.uk Mike

    Some of those shots are sublime. Such a shame he had no recognition.

  • http://www.facesoflondon.co.uk Marco

    Amazing, simply stunning. Just makes my work look abysmal! So many years to come and improve.

  • http://4thislife.blogspot.com Margaret

    What an amazing find, I so glad these have been found and will be available for others to see. Like the Vivian Maier find, these are precious perspectives of America!

  • http://spaindaily.blogspot.com jane

    these are great! thank you for this!

  • Oisin

    New York’s Robert Doisneau without the recognition. If only I had taken one of those images I would consider myself a success. Thank you for bringing them to me Eric and thank you Lempkin for the Youtube link.

  • David Glasco

    Wonderful! IMO this is some of the best street photography you have presented thus far. I for one would be greatful if you could find more work of this quality. This is the kind of work that makes me want to leave the studio and start wandering the streets again. The work is not only visually pleasing but for those of us who are 50+ it takes us back to a time when things were a lot simpler. Not necessarily of less quality, but adhering more to the philosophy that “less is more.”

  • http://www.images.ifp3.com Guy

    Thanks to the negatives ! Imagine if all these wonderful images were on the hard drive of a 30 year old PC…! Who will be able to look at today’s photography in 30 years from now if the guy simply stores them on his computer ???

  • http://www.franklarsonphotos.com Soren Larson

    It is a real pleasure to read all the comments above. My grandfather would be rolling in his grave with delight I’m sure, and totally surprised to know that his work is getting such wonderful reactions. And it makes all the time I’ve put into scanning, cataloging etc. worthwhile.
    Best, Soren Larson

  • Pingback: Timeless Lessons Street Photographers Can Learn from Robert Frank’s “The Americans” | Uber Patrol - The Definitive Cool Guide

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