In 2017, I first wrote about Caleb Stein‘s project, Down By the Hudson on Lenscratch:
“When I look at the photographs taken by Caleb Stein it’s hard to wrap my mind around the idea that he is just at the beginning of his photography career. And if I can predict correctly, it’s a career that will undoubtedly lead to a level of mastery that will equal the greats. His work is so well seen, with such clear, unflinching vision, that his storytelling is profound and singular. Born in London, now living in New York state, he has an outsider’s ability to strip away artifice and reveal small truths about America and small town life. His ongoing series, Down By The Hudson, is timeless and beautiful in its revelations of others.”
Needless to say, that prediction proved to be correct. Over the past decade, Stein has continued to deepen and expand his vision, creating a body of work that is at once intimate and observant. What struck me about his photographs in 2017z; their honesty, empathy, and ability to find poetry in the everyday, remains at the heart of the work today.
On September 10, 2026, Caleb Stein opens Down By The Hudson at Palo Gallery in New York. The exhibition closes October 3, 2026, and will be accompanied by a book of the same name, published by Palo Gallery Press and designed by Lamotte Studios.
Meticulously conceived and beautifully produced, the book brings together the full canon of Down By The Hudson, spanning 2013–2025. It includes contributions by Matt Carey-Williams, Anita N. Bateman, and Amitava Kumar, as well as a conversation with Daniel Wolff. Together, the exhibition and book offer an opportunity to consider the evolution of a project that has become an important and enduring portrait of place, community, and American life.
