Meryl Meisler

Meryl Meisler, born in the South Bronx, NY 1951, raised in North Massapequa, Long Island, NY (Two By Two Client #5, 2022)
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Meryl Meisler – Photographer, Visual Storyteller

Born in 1951, Meryl Meisler grew up in Long Island, New York, in a Jewish family of Eastern European descent. Inspired by Diane Arbus, Jacques Henri Lartigue, and the family photographers in her own home, she picked up a camera in the 1970s and never put it down.

In 1975, Meisler moved to New York City, where she studied under Lisette Model while working as a freelance illustrator. With a keen, quirky eye and a Borscht Belt sense of humor, she began documenting the world around her—from intimate family gatherings
to the electric energy of Manhattan’s nightlife. She danced and photographed her way through the rise of disco, capturing its glitz, chaos, and characters with an insider’s perspective.

In 1979, she began teaching art in NYC public schools, working in Bushwick at a time when the neighborhood was ravaged by crime, arson, and economic hardship. Undeterred, she continued photographing, documenting everyday life on the streets and in the classrooms where she taught for over 30 years.

After retiring, Meisler began sharing her vast archive of unseen work, earning recognition through exhibitions and monographs, including A Tale of Two Cities: Disco Era Bushwick and her latest, Street Walker. Her photographs celebrate disco and street life, Jewish and LGBTQ+ identity, and the joy found in even the most unexpected places.

Her work has been exhibited in the U.S. and Europe, including at the Brooklyn Museum,The Whitney Museum, The New Museum, and The Musée de la Musique Philharmonie de Paris. She has received numerous grants and fellowships, and in 2024, she joined Polka Galerie in Paris.

Meisler is represented by CLAMP (NYC) and Polka (Paris). She lives and works in New York City and Woodstock with her wife, artist Patricia Jean O’Brien, and their dog, Via.