The hotel clerk, the neighbors, his roommate of three years... no one knew a thing about the dead young man in the hotel room -- not even his real name, or where he worked. The man lay fallen back on the bed, eyes fixed to the ceiling, a hypodermic needle in his arm. "How did this guy die?" I asked the cop. "Dirty drugs." I learned later that he had been a police informant, New York City

1972

Leonard Freed

Associated Names
Leonard Freed

Artist, American, 1929 - 2006

Magnum Photos

Publisher

The image shows a hallway scene inside a building. Multiple figures are present in the corridor, creating a dynamic moment. A silhouetted figure leans on a railing in the foreground. To the right, a figure in uniform holds a bat. In the background, two figures are visible through an open doorway, one with a raised hand and the other holding a camera. The black and white composition highlights contrasts and plays with light and shadow. The narrow corridor and various objects like pipes and molding add depth and texture to the scene.
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Artwork overview

  • Medium

    gelatin silver print

  • Credit Line

    Gift of Brigitte Freed

  • Dimensions

    image: 20.7 × 30.5 cm (8 1/8 × 12 in.)
    sheet: 27.9 × 35.3 cm (11 × 13 7/8 in.)

  • Accession Number

    2017.166.29

Artwork history & notes

Provenance

Brigitte Freed, Garrison, NY; gift to NGA, 2017.

Associated Names

Bibliography

1980

  • Freed, Leonard. Police Work. New York, 1980: p. 33.

Inscriptions

on verso, signed by artist, lower right in graphite: Leonard Freed; by artist, center right in graphite circled: 5; lower left: 1972- NEW YORK City, USA / VINTAGE ARCHIVAL PRINT / UNIQUE ORIGINAL PRINT / USED FOR BOOK: "POLICEWORK" p.33-34 / published: 1980; lower right: #62-63; bottom center: UNIQUE; bottom right: 72-19-3/30A; on recto, by unknown hand, top right in red pencil: 33; center left perpendicular: 10 1/4"; cropping notes along left edge; lower left embossed: © Leonard Freed; on verso, lower right stamped in black ink: © Leonard Freed-Magnum; bottom center: VINTAGE PRINT

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