Get To Know: George Forss

George Forss had a rocky start. His father was deported, he was taken from his mother at an early age, lived five years in an orphanage, and contracted polio. He sold prints of New York to passers-by, standing in front of art museums and Grand Central Station.

His work received positive remarks from Cartier-Bresson and Ansel Adams. As the world took note of his work, he eventually obtained a small store front and no longer had to stand in the streets to sell. He recently died in his sleep, apparently from heart failure.

Liberty Building (detail) by George Forss, from Park Slope Gallery memorial