Helen Levitt

Helen Levitt captured the spontaneous poetry of New York City streets, particularly the vibrant, unscripted lives of children, with her keen eye and unobtrusive camera.

ABOUT

Helen Levitt (1913–2009) was an American photographer and cinematographer celebrated for her pioneering street photography, especially in New York City. Born in Bensonhurst, Brooklyn, Levitt dropped out of high school at eighteen and began her journey in photography, initially working for a commercial portrait photographer. Her early exposure to the work of Henri Cartier-Bresson through the Manhattan Film and Photography League profoundly influenced her, shifting her approac…

Read Helen's full story in Art Whisper

NOTABLE WORKS

New York 1848 · The Metropolitan Museum of Art Walker Evans 1936 · The Metropolitan Museum of Art [Thanksgiving, Boys Dancing, New York] 1937 · The Metropolitan Museum of Art [Graffiti: Chalk Drawing of Woman with Curly Hair on Boarded-Up Window in Brick Wall, New York City] 1938 · The Metropolitan Museum of Art [Graffiti: Chalk Drawing of Figure with Double Pupils, New York City] 1938 · The Metropolitan Museum of Art New York 1938 · Cleveland Museum of Art

See all of Helen's works in Art Whisper

INFLUENCES

Influenced by

Henri Cartier-BressonStreet Photography