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American Street Photographer Helen Levitt Photographic Poems About New York

Posted on April 26, 2009April 26, 2009 By P U 8 Comments on American Street Photographer Helen Levitt Photographic Poems About New York

Helen Levitt New York
New York © Helen Levitt

Helen Levitt is known for her striking street photography of New York City from the 1930’s through the 1980’s.

Button to the Secret Passage - Metropolitan Museum of Art
Button to the Secret Passage - Metropolitan Museum of Art © Helen Levitt

An endowment, and gift of 12 photographs, has been arranged with the Metropolitan Museum of Art by her sister-in-law, Mrs. Robert O. Levitt.

Street Drawing © Helen Levitt
Street Drawing 1940 © Helen Levitt

I particularly like her many pictures of children playing.

Amazon is currently showing this and 2 other books about Helen Levitt and her work.

Untitled, New York 1942 © Helen Levitt
Untitled, New York 1942 © Helen Levitt

A short wiki about her is here.

She is also know for her later color work in the same genre.

 	  New York, circa 1959-60, © Helen Levitt. Courtesy Laurence Miller Gallery and/or powerHouse Books
New York, circa 1959-60, © Helen Levitt. Courtesy Laurence Miller Gallery and/or powerHouse Books

The book “Slide Show”covers this body of her work.



 	  New York, circa 1940, © Helen Levitt. Courtesy Laurence Miller Gallery and/or powerHouse Books
New York, circa 1940, © Helen Levitt. Courtesy Laurence Miller Gallery and/or powerHouse Books

NPR has a piece on her, “Helen Levitt Captured Perfect Moments, Unnoticed”.

In 2001, when Melissa Block asked Helen Levitt about what she captured in one of her best-known images (above), Levitt said: “Just what you see … If it were easy to talk about, I’d be a writer. Since I’m inarticulate, I express myself with images.” Courtesy Estate of Helen Levitt

If you like any kind of street photography, do yourself a big favor and look further at the work Helen Levitt provided for us with her gentle photographic touch.

Ken Storch


Do you like street photography? Do you do street photography?  Comment below…


Black & White Photography, Famous Photographers, Film Photography, News Tags:B&W film, color black and white, Fine Art, Metropolitan Museum, Museum, photos black and white, picture black and white

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Comments (8) on “American Street Photographer Helen Levitt Photographic Poems About New York”

  1. lee says:
    April 28, 2009 at 16:26

    Thanks for sharing this. I didn’t know she did any color work.

    Just looking at her photos makes me want to go to New York!!!
    Do you know if these photos will be made available for public viewing soon??

    Reply
    1. Ken Storch says:
      October 29, 2009 at 12:16

      There is an increasing interest in her work. I expect some showings soon, but I have no specific knowledge of any shows.

      Reply
  2. timor says:
    April 28, 2009 at 19:20

    I love these shots. I’m gonna take a look at the books too. Thanks

    Reply
    1. Ken Storch says:
      October 29, 2009 at 12:17

      Hi Timor,
      My response to you dropped off this thread somehow.

      Glad you liked the work.

      Reply
  3. Magso says:
    April 30, 2010 at 05:05

    Fantastico!!! I love this shot,Thanks

    Reply
    1. Ken Storch says:
      April 30, 2010 at 07:26

      Glad you liked it, cheers.

      Reply
  4. Steve says:
    June 27, 2011 at 20:16

    This is good work. Reminds of me of Vivian Maier’s recently discovered Chicago street photography.

    Reply
  5. Pingback: Documentary Film on Helen Levitt – NYC Street Photographer » PhotographyUncapped

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