Nat Finkelstein was one of the most respected photojournalists of modern times. Renowned for his iconic and intimate documentation of Andy Warhol’s infamous Factory, and later for his political activism including an allegiance with The Black Panthers that forced him to live abroad for 15 years, Finkelstein remained at the heart of the cultural zeitgeist up until his death aged 76, in October last year.

A retrospective opening this week at the Idea Generation gallery brings together Finkelstein’s diverse portfolio of work achieved across five decades: from the Factory scenes, to the civil rights and anti-war protests of mid-60s America, to his continuing exploration of the subcultures of 80s and 90s New York; Nat’s photographs not only depict their subjects and scenes, but also provide a visual record of the life and times of the photographer himself.

“When all is said and done, when everything is gone, the photograph is what’s going to remain. The photographer is the producer of history.” Nat Finkelstein

After his expulsion from Brooklyn College where he first studied photography, for his fervent protest at the censorship of a college publication, Finkelstein trained under the legendary art director of Harper’s Bazaar, Alexey Brodovitch. It was after meeting Warhol and his band of freaks and followers at a Factory party in 1964 that Finkelstein was to take the most iconic images of his career; chronicling the scenes, names and faces of this underground world.

“I stayed at the factory for close to two years. I watched pop die, I saw punk being born. I participated in a cultural revolution that shook the superstructure of our society.” Nat Finkelstein

Finkelstein captured all the Factory’s faithful inhabitants including Edie Sedgwick, Nico, Lou Reed and the Velvet Underground and of course Warhol himself, as well as the luminaries whose cultural factions merely collided with the Factory set – Salvador Dali, Allen Ginsberg, Marcel Duchamp, Bob Dylan and more. His images presented one of the most comprehensive and intimate insights into this exclusive world ever seen: from some of the most intimate and unguarded photographs of Warhol, to hauntingly soul-capturing photographs of Sedgwick and the moment where Warhol met Dylan. Alongside his work at the Factory, Finkelstein became increasingly involved in the civil rights and anti-war protests of mid-sixties America. A staunch political activist himself, Finkelstein took pictures from beyond the barriers, depicting the spirit of a generation desperate to make a change – a stark contrast to his self-obsessed, fame-hungry Factory subjects.

“I was getting ready to go back into what I considered to be the real world, marching with, fighting for and reporting on the folk who were out there in the streets trying to build a better world for all and not newspaper space for themselves.” Nat Finkelstein

Following a near-fifteen year break from photography, living as a fugitive in the Middle East after fleeing a federal warrant for his arrest resulting from his associations with the Black Panthers, Finkelstein returned to his native New York in 1982 after the charges had been dropped. Ever the intrepid cultural explorer, Finkelstein remained at the cutting edge of the social extremes, managing the post-punk band Khmer Rouge, and documenting the deviance and debauchery of the club kids of Manhattan’s Limelight club for his 1993 book Merry Monsters.

A photographer whose work now hangs in the permanent collections of some of the world’s leading institutions and museums this is his first ever major retrospective.

“In retrospect and after a whole lot of living, I look upon the Factory scene like a perpetual carnival in Rio de Janeiro, beautiful girls, pretty boys, music in the air and f***ing in the  streets, and every once in a while somebody runs in and kills one of the guests.”

Nat Finkelstein, 1933 - 2009

The exhibition runs from the 20th Jan to the 14th Feb at Idea Generation.