Born 1912, Cleveland, Ohio
Died 1995

Frankel graduated from Ohio State University in 1935 and in 1943 moved to Washington, DC, documenting the African-American community there in photographs. These were published as a book, In the Alleys: Kids in the Shadow of the Capitol, in 1995. During World War II Frankel worked for the War Relocation Authority, photographing Heart Mountain Relocation Center in Wyoming (1945), the infamous internment camp where Japanese Americans were imprisoned. After the war he moved to New York and continued to photograph. In 1946, the year he officially joined the Photo League, his work was included in a group exhibition at the Museum of Modern Art. In 1950 he graduated from Columbia University's School of Social Work and went on to work in the field until his retirement in 1986. He then returned to photography, completing an MFA from the University of Maryland in 1988, exhibiting his work until his death in 1995.