Jay Maisel

• Name — Jay Maisel • Born — 18 January 1931 • Birthplace — New York City, U.S. • Died — 23 August 2026 • Occupation — Photographer • Website — https: www.jaymaisel.com

Maisel was born in Brooklyn, New York City on January 18, 1931, and attended Abraham Lincoln High School where he studied under Leon Friend. He studied painting and graphic design at Manhattan's Cooper Union and at Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut, and became a photographer in 1954. One of Maisel's most notable images is his photograph of Miles Davis that appears on the cover of Davis's album Kind of Blue (1959). In 2009, Andy Baio commissioned an image based on the original Kind of Blue album cover for the cover of a chiptune tribute album titled Kind of Bloop. Attorneys representing Maisel demanded damages and that the resulting image be removed from the chiptune album, resulting in an out-of-court settlement of $32,500 from Baio. • Illustration — The Germania Bank Building in 2011 For almost 50 years, Maisel lived with his family in the historic Germania Bank Building on the Bowery in lower Manhattan. Built in 1898, the 35,000 sqft building contains 72 rooms over six floors. Maisel purchased the building in 1966 for $102,000 when the neighborhood was in severe decline. He used it as a single-family residence and studio. The building's value was estimated at $30 to $50 million in 2008. New York magazine called it "maybe the greatest real-estate coup of all time". It cost $300,000 annually to maintain, including heat and taxes. In February 2015, the building was sold for $55 million to developer Aby Rosen. A 2019 film, Jay Myself, documents Maisel's life and his move from the building. Jay Maisel died on August 24, 2026, at the age of 95.