Helen Levitt (1913
- 2009) an American photographer noted for "street photography" around
New York City. Levitt has been acclaimed as "the most celebrated
and least known photographer of her time.
Levitt
grew up in Brooklyn. Dropping out of high school, she
taught herself photography while working for a
commercial photographer. While teaching art to children in 1937, Levitt became intrigued
with the transitory sidewalk chalk drawings that were part of
the New York children's street culture of the time.
Levitt purchased a Leica camera and began to photograph
the children and their street art.
The photographs were published "In The Street: Chalk Drawings and
Messages,
New York City 1938-1948"
Helen Levitt
fascination with children's sidewalk art
In 1959 and 1960, Levitt received two Guggenheim
Foundation grants to take color photographs on the streets
of New York. Much of her work in color from the 1960s was
stolen from her East 13th Street
apartment.
The remaining photos
and others taken in the following years were published
in 2005 book Slide Show: The Color Photographs of
Helen Levitt
In 1940s, Levitt made two documentary films with
Janice Loeb and James Agee called In the Street (1948) and The
Quiet One (1948). Levitt, along with Loeb and Sidney
Meyers, received an Academy Award nomination for the
screenplay of The Quiet One.
Helen Levitt captures
her own empathy for the street kids of New York
Helen Levitt was active in film
making for nearly 25 years; her final film credit is as an
editor for John Cohen's documentary The End of an Old Song
(1972) including the
cinematography on The Savage Eye (1960) which was
produced by Ben Meyers, and Joseph Strick and
as an assistant director for the film version of
Genet's play The Balcony (1963).
Helen Levitt lived in New York City and remained active as a
photographer for nearly 70 years. New York's "visual poet
laureate" was notoriously private and
publicity shy.
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