George Zimbel's Photography

05/07/2026

One of the real joys of managing George’s archive is how it keeps pulling me deeper into the world of photography — and out into it, too.
Tonight I went to the Spring/Summer Opening Reception at The Image Centre (IMC) at Toronto Metropolitan University, and it was a wonderful evening. Three remarkable exhibitions opened, and each one stopped me in my tracks for different reasons.
The survey show for Dawit L. Petros — winner of the 2025 Scotiabank Photography Award — was extraordinary. His Chromatic Cartographies series, tightly cropped photographs of the painted sides of buses traveling across West Africa, looks at first like pure abstraction. Bold color fields, sweeping curves, geometric forms. Then you realize you’re looking at maps of movement, of migration, of lives in transit. It’s a beautiful and genuinely original body of work.
Larry Fink’s Social Graces and Runway filled two galleries, and if you don’t know Fink’s work, this is the place to start. He photographed both Manhattan high society and a farming family in rural Pennsylvania — and somehow made both worlds feel equally theatrical, equally human. The darkroom notes on one of his working prints on display were alone worth the visit.
And Kenna Robinson’s cyanotype work, With My Whole Body, was something I hadn’t seen before — fabric cyanotypes sculpted into three-dimensional forms, the artist both subject and maker. Quiet, powerful, and completely original.
I also ran into some wonderful people. I caught up with Cindee Karnick, whose father Ike Karnick’s show The Spirit, The People, The Land — sixty years of documentary work in Portugal and the Azores — is still up at The Peach Gallery. Well worth seeing if you haven’t.
And I met two new people who I suspect I’ll stay in touch with — James Fowler, artist and curator, and Peter Sramek, a photographer who also makes handbound books and runs workshops at Shibagau Creek Forest Farmstead, a nature retreat in Tamworth, Ontario. The kind of person who reminds you that photography and craft and community all belong together.
The IMC is free, it’s open to the public, and it runs through August 1. If you’re in Toronto this summer, go.
🖼️ Signed lifetime prints by George Zimbel are available through the George Zimbel Photography Archive, and through our partner galleries: Stephen Bulger Gallery (Toronto), Fahey/Klein Gallery (Los Angeles), Catherine Couturier Gallery (Houston), and A Gallery for Fine Photography (New Orleans).

04/17/2026

Remembering Gabor Szilasi (1928–2026)
Gabor Szilasi died last Friday at his home in Westmount at the age of 98. He was a friend and colleague of my father, George Zimbel.
They had a lot in common. Both came to Montreal from somewhere else — Gabor from Budapest by way of the 1956 Hungarian Revolution, George from New York by way of Prince Edward Island. Both chose Montreal and stayed. Both worked in black and white. Both carried Leicas. Both believed in the quiet dignity of ordinary people going about their lives. Both were represented by the Stephen Bulger Gallery in Toronto.
Gabor photographed Montreal and rural Quebec for more than sixty years — working people, the elderly, vernacular architecture, the small overlooked details of a place he had been a refugee in but came to love. In a 2018 interview with the Gazette he said: "A photographer who was born here might take a lot for granted, might not see the banal, or might look past it. But because for me it was all new and interesting, it made the images fresh."
That outsider's eye is something he and George shared, though they arrived at it by different routes.
The last time I saw my father, in October 2022, the phone rang. It was Gabor, asking to speak with George. My father was not talking much by then, but he smiled when he heard Gabor's voice.
Our condolences to Gabor's family, and to the many in Montreal and beyond whose lives were touched by his work.
— Andrew Zimbel
Archive Manager, George Zimbel Photography Archive

Gabor Szilasi 1928-2026

09/24/2025

09/24/2025

✈️ A chance encounter on a plane led to George Zimbel’s work being shown at the Canadian Embassy in Tokyo.

My brother Matt was seated next to a woman who turned out to be the Cultural Attaché. Once she saw George’s photographs, she was instantly hooked — and soon enough, George had an exhibition in Japan.

This photo shows a group of Japanese schoolgirls visiting the show. George traveled to Tokyo with Elaine, Stephen Bulger, Catherine Lash, and their newborn — a family adventure wrapped around an artist’s milestone. I recently found a video of this trip, which I’ll share soon!

Though George is best known for his photographs of the 1950s & 60s (Marilyn Monroe, JFK, street life in New York, Paris, and Montreal), he never stopped shooting. With Elaine’s constant support — she was central to his career as editor, partner, and champion — George continued photographing right up until her passing in August 2017. After she died, he put his cameras aside.

🖼️ Signed lifetime prints are available through the George Zimbel Photography Archive and our gallery partners:
(Toronto)
(Los Angeles)
(Houston)
(New Orleans)

George’s work continues to connect across generations — from a subway grate in New York, to an embassy gallery in Tokyo, to collectors’ walls today.

09/24/2025

Marilyn Monroe Looking Left

This image feels alive with anticipation. Marilyn spins to the right, her eyes pulling left, as though she’s looking at what’s to come. George froze that fleeting gesture with his Leica in 1954 — and for 22 years the negatives lay hidden in his archive before being rediscovered.

💬 What do you think she was looking at? The director? A fan in the crowd? Something else?

I’m grateful to see how many people still keep Marilyn’s legacy alive — collectors, historians, and fan communities like Marilyn Monroe Video Archives on YouTube. With this series, I’ll be adding George’s rediscovered photographs to that shared memory, one Mon

📍 Signed lifetime prints by George Zimbel are available through the archive and our partner galleries.

Interested in this print? Contact:
• (Toronto)
• (Los Angeles)
• (Houston)
• (New Orleans)

Explore more: George Zimbel Photography Archive

05/29/2025

🚗 Waving Goodbye

This week, Elon Musk made headlines again—stepping back from government work, and still not delivering on a $100 million pledge to Trump’s political operation. We think George Zimbel would’ve been relieved. He would’ve been glad Musk is stepping away, and even gladder the pledge hasn’t come through. George followed politics closely, and he would have been deeply troubled by Elon’s escapades during his time in Washington.

Funny enough, in one of George’s daybooks from around 2009, we found a note:
“Pitch Elon Musk (he makes electric cars) photo of old cars.”
George was always looking for new opportunities—but he had a strong sense of what mattered. He didn’t pursue that pitch. He wouldn’t have now.

The photo here—"Convertible, 1964"—shows a man waving up at George as he photographs from an overpass. Maybe it was just a friendly wave. But today, it feels like George is waving goodbye to the noise, the ego, and the hype.

In another photo—Paris Auto Show, early 1950s—we see banners for car brands like Talbot and Lanchester. Once powerful. Now long gone. Even the biggest names fade.

George was a dreamer, but he believed in democracy, fairness, and public life. He photographed with care and curiosity—not for attention, but to say: this is what I saw.

The images we’re sharing today might have been part of that Musk pitch. Instead, they’re part of a deeper story—George’s vision of everyday life, in motion:
📍 Convertible, 1964
📍 Paris Auto Show, early 1950s
📍 Benson, London, 1952
📍 Hoods Up, NYC
📍 A Bus Called Desire, New Orleans
📍 United Nations Plaza, 1955
📍 London Traffic, c.1950s

Not just cars. Moments, movement, and memory.

—

Represented by:
📍 Toronto:
📍 Los Angeles:
📍 Houston:
📍 New Orleans:

Explore more at www.georgezimbel.com

George was always looking for new opportunities, but he had a strong sense of what mattered. He didn’t pursue that pitch. He wouldn’t have now.rGallery

05/07/2025

Quiet Conversations, Rome, early 1950s
Photograph by George S. Zimbel

Today marks the start of the conclave in Rome to elect a new pope. I don’t know for sure, but I think my father took this image in Rome while stationed in Europe in the early 50s. Two priests in quiet conversation—it feels like a fitting image for a day when the world turns its eyes to the Vatican and wonders what conversations are happening behind closed doors.

May the next pope be a force for kindness, courage, and peace in a world that needs all three. Someone who, like Pope Francis, sees the world clearly and still chooses to serve with humility.

Here’s to quiet conversations that lead to bold leadership.

If you’d like to see more of George Zimbel’s work in person, you can ask to view it at one of the galleries that represent him:
(Toronto)
(Los Angeles)
(Houston)
(New Orleans)
Or just reach out—I’m always happy to share more of his story.

03/21/2025

Fiction Department, Philadelphia Public Library, 1968
Recently Acquired: Fiction Department, Philadelphia Public Library, 1968.
20 x 16 in. silver gelatin print from the archive of prints George printed in his lifetime.
© George Zimbel. Acquired through , Los Angeles.

In the quiet aisles of the Philadelphia Public Library, a reader becomes absorbed in a world of fiction, embodying the timeless relationship between individuals and books. George Zimbel captured this intimate moment, reflecting his fascination with readers—a theme prevalent throughout his work.

George's dedication to photographing readers culminated in his book, The Book of Readers, published by . This collection showcases the profound connection between readers and their books, highlighting the universality of reading across different times and places.

🖼 A limited number of prints remain in the archive, now managed by George’s second son, Andrew. Collectors often share that George’s work resonates deeply, evoking emotions that bring joy and contemplation into their daily lives.

📍 Location: Philadelphia, PA
🔗

🔹 Represented by:

📏 This image has been cropped to fit this post. The original 20 x 16 in. silver gelatin print maintains its full composition.