New York
Helen Levitt
American, 1913–2009
1974
This dye transfer print by Helen Levitt quietly frames a candid street moment—two men in hats stepping from a makeshift booth—intended to reveal the small, human dramas of everyday New York life.
What strikes you is the rich, slightly worn blue of the booth set against the men's tailored coats and animated faces, rendered in the deep, filmic hues and textured surface that dye transfer printing provides.
Levitt helped legitimize color and the quotidian in fine-art photography, using candid street encounters like this to elevate everyday urban life into poetic, humanist portraiture.
Medium
Dye transfer print
Dimensions
14 × 9" (35.5 × 22.8 cm)
Classification
Department
Credit
Acquired through the generosity of Harriette and Noel Levine
Accession
41.1992
Palette
Exhibitions
