Gelatin silver print of 1969 photograph, printed 1994. Credited, titled, and dated on label affixed to mount verso. 11 x 7-1/4 inches (27.9 x 18.4 cm) (image); Frame measures 21 x 17 inches (53 x 43 cm). PROVENANCE: Jackson Fine Art, Atlanta, Georgia; Private collection.

Born in Abbeville, Louisiana, in 1939, throughout his 50-plus year career, photographer Leo Touchet’s work has captured the essence of people and cultures all across the world. In July 1965, inspired by the work of Henri Cartier-Bresson on view at MoMA, Touchet purchased a Leica M2 and began photographing the streets of New York. Soon after, his work drew the eye of a LIFE Magazine photo editor. That chance encounter led him on assignment for UNICEF to war-torn Vietnam, the first stop on a career that led Touchet through fifty countries across the world. 

Upon meeting Henri Cartier-Bresson in 1972, the man whose work inspired Touchet’s career suggested he return home and photograph the people and culture. Touchet took the advice and turned his lens upon his birth state of Louisiana, a sample of which was beautifully collected in the monograph Rejoice When You Die - The New Orleans Jazz Funerals. 

In total, six monographs of Touchet’s work have been published. Additionally, his work has been featured in numerous publications including Time, LIFE, National Geographic, and The New York Times.