Aaron Siskind (1903–1991) was an American photographer widely regarded as the leading photographic voice associated with Abstract Expressionism. Within the photography world, Siskind stood virtually alone in aligning his work with the ideals of the American Abstract Expressionist movement, and he remains one of the most influential photographers of the twentieth century.

Siskind photographed recognizable people, places, and objects, yet he transformed them into a new visual language that communicated ideas, emotions, and personal reflections on life and history. Rather than simply recording reality, Siskind sought to create images that reflected his own state of mind. He frequently worked very close to his subjects, carefully framing out distracting elements in order to emphasize textures, shapes, and forms that heightened the emotional or allusive qualities of the image.

Although his early abstract photographs were not immediately embraced by traditional photographers, they were deeply admired by painters associated with Abstract Expressionism. Artists such as Willem de Kooning, Jackson Pollock, and Franz Kline were among his friends and supporters, and Siskind often exhibited his photographs alongside their paintings. Through his innovations in abstraction and photographic composition, Siskind established a distinctive and lasting place in the history of twentieth-century photography.