Léon Gimpel

Léon Gimpel (; 13 May 18737 October 1948) was a French photographer.

Born in Strasbourg in 1873. He was the youngest son of four, born to a Jewish Alsacian family who fled to Paris after Germany took over Alsace in 1870. Gimpel worked for his family's fabric company, managed by his older brother Eugene. In 1897 his interest in photography was kindled when he acquired a Kodak detective camera, he soon swapped this for a Spido Gaumont which allowed him greater creative freedom. A special edition of L'Illustration was published to demonstrate the new technology, it included an insert featuring four autochromes taken by Gimpel, a group of soldiers, two scenic views of Villefranche-sur-Mer and sunset at Lake Geneva. A few weeks later on 29 June 1907, Gimpel published the first color news photographs when L'Illustration published his picture of Frederik VIII of Denmark and his wife Louise of Sweden, who were visiting France at the time.

Gimpel married Marguerite Bouillon in 1939 and settled in Béarn. He died in 1948 at Sévignacq-Meyracq.

Although largely forgotten, his work has experienced a revival recently. The band Beirut used one of his photographs as the inspiration behind their 2007 album The Flying Club Cup. A major respective took place at Musée d'Orsay in Paris in February 2008. His work helped influence the 2009 Spike Jonze film Where the Wild Things Are.