Born 1922, Brooklyn, New York
Died, 2016, Saint-Ouen, France


Stettner joined the Photo League in the late 1930s. There he took the course in basic technique, which he later taught (1947). During World War II, he enlisted in the Army Air Force, serving as a combat photographer in Southeast Asia (1940–45). After the war he traveled in Europe; he rejoined the Photo League upon his return to New York. He then lived in Paris from 1947 to 1952, but remained active in the League, organizing the first exhibition of contemporary French photography in the United States at the League's gallery (1948), participating in the show "This Is the Photo League" (1948–49), and holding a solo exhibition there (1950). While working as a freelance magazine photographer, Stettner won an award from Life for young photographers in 1951. In 1953 he returned once more to New York, where he continued to work as photographer; among his notable projects was a photo-essay on factory workers (1974–76). In 1990 Stettner moved back to France.