N. Jay Jaffee was an American photographer from Kings, New York, known for his images of everyday life, city streets, political movements, portraits, and later, landscapes and seascapes. His documentary images reveal the beauty and mystery within mundane moments. Jaffee studied under Sid Grossman of the Photo League and was mentored by Edward Steichen, then curator of photography at the Museum of Modern Art. His photographs are held in major collections, including the Museum of Modern Art, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Smithsonian Institution, the National Portrait Gallery, the Library of Congress, the National Museum of American Art, the New York Public Library, and the Bibliothèque Nationale.
