Sam Brody (January 1, 1907 – September 9, 1987) was a founding member of the Workers Film and Photo League, an independent organization founded in 1931 to produce and present films documenting the Great Depression from a Marxist perspective. He is also known for his work as a photographer and film critic, and for his 15-year relationship with New York City painter

Alice Neel Alice Neel (January 28, 1900 – October 13, 1984) was an American visual artist, who was known for her portraits depicting friends, family, lovers, poets, artists, and strangers. Her paintings have an expressionistic use of line and color, psyc ...

Biography

Born on January 1, 1907, to

Russian Jewish The history of the Jews in Russia and areas historically connected with it goes back at least 1,500 years. Jews in Russia have historically constituted a large religious and ethnic diaspora; the Russian Empire at one time hosted the largest pop ...

immigrant parents in England, Brody was raised in London, Paris,

Richmond, Virginia (Thus do we reach the stars) , image_map = , mapsize = 250 px , map_caption = Location within Virginia , pushpin_map = Virginia#USA , pushpin_label = Richmond , pushpin_m ...

, and New York City. In 1927 he married artist Claire Gebiner with whom he had two children before the marriage ended in 1941. A son Julian was born in 1930 and a daughter Mady in 1937. Brody took an early interest in political activism and documentary films. In May 1930 he wrote in The Daily Worker what later became a rallying cry for left-wing filmmakers: In 1931 Brody and several others formed the Workers Film and Photo League, variously acting as cameramen, teachers and political theoreticians. In addition to his league activities, he was a regular contributor of film criticism and commentary to various left wing publications, including the

Daily Worker The ''Daily Worker'' was a newspaper published in New York City by the Communist Party USA, a formerly Comintern-affiliated organization. Publication began in 1924. While it generally reflected the prevailing views of the party, attempts were m ...

and Experimental Cinema. In 1940 Brody met artist

, beginning a complicated, sometimes controversial, on and off affair that ended in 1955. They had one son, Hartley Neel, in 1941. Brody remained friends with Neel until her death in 1984. In 1955, Brody met and soon married photographer Sondra Herrera. They had one son, David, in 1958. Brody continued to make films and take photographs until his death from a fall on September 9, 1987, at the family home in Old Saybrook, Connecticut.

References

http://www.sambrody.com/
http://www.aliceneel.com/ {{DEFAULTSORT:Brody, Sam American film directors 1907 births 1987 deaths British emigrants to the United States