Faurer, Louis
American, 1916 - 2001
"Champion," New York City, 1948/1949,
gelatin silver print, image: 23.2 x 33.4 cm (9 1/8 x 13 1/8 in.)
sheet: 23.3 x 33.7 cm (9 3/16 x 13 1/4 in.),
National Gallery of Art, Washington, Joshua P. Smith Collection, 2001.128.34
Photographers working in New York City in the years between the publication of Walker Evans' American Photographs in 1938 and Robert Frank's The Americans in 1958 profoundly changed the course of American photography. This fertile period in art history was celebrated in the National Gallery of Art's exhibition of some 75 photographs by twenty prominent artists. The Streets of New York: American Photographs from the Collection, 1938–1958 was on view in the photography galleries, West Building, Ground Floor, from September 17, 2006 through January 15, 2007.
The exhibition, organized by the National Gallery of Art, Washington, included key works by Evans and Frank; candid studies of children by Helen Levitt; vibrant and gritty compositions of the streets and street life by Louis Faurer and Ted Croner; evocative and lyrical views of the urban landscape by Roy DeCarava, Saul Leiter, and David Vestal; bold depictions of New York bars and nightclubs by Lisette Model; photographs of joy and alienation at Coney Island by Sid Grossman, Leon Levinstein, and Bruce Davidson; and disturbing photographs of New York's latent violence by William Klein and Weegee, among others.
The artists featured in the exhibition were not part of an organized group, although many studied with Alexey Brodovitch, art director of Harper's Bazaar and founder of the Design Laboratory, or Sid Grossman, who taught classes at the Photo League and in his New York apartment. However, this generation of photographers shared a common vision and objective: to record their personal responses to the vivid and often violent city surrounding them. Encouraged by the teachings of Brodovitch and Grossman, they consciously broke many of the accepted rules of photography—they used available light, allowed forms to be blurred, out of focus, and off–kilter—in order to reveal the city's energy and pace, vitality and vulgarity. Unlike their predecessors, their goal was not simply to document the city but to recreate their experience of it. Organized by photographer, the exhibition highlights the novel techniques favored by these new artists, and their choices of subject matter and composition.
Walker Evans (1903 - 1975) Subway Portraits, 1938-1941
Among the photographs featured, Walker Evans' subway portraits created between 1938 and 1941, are some of the most iconic portraits of the period, and helped usher in the new era in photography. Evans created the photographs by concealing a 35mm camera under his coat—its lens protruding between his buttons and a shutter release down his sleeve. Relying entirely on chance and intuition, Evans did not raise the camera to his eye to frame the photograph, nor did he adjust the focus or exposure. This stealth allowed him to photograph subway riders without their knowledge and thus capture them in "naked repose," as Evans noted. The pictures that resulted are raw—full of energy and emotion—and marked a dramatic break from the highly composed photographs that had preceded them.
Helen Levitt studied with Evans in 1938 and 1939. Like him, she used a 35mm camera, but quickly developed her own fluid, graceful style, making tender, often witty photographs of children at play. Instead of the close–up, confrontational style favored by some of her contemporaries, Levitt preferred to frame an entire scene, giving her photographs a strong narrative appeal.
Weegee
New Year’s Eve at Sammy’s on the Bowery, 1943
The photographer popularly known as Weegee began his career covering fires that occurred overnight when the regular photographers were off duty. Soon he was photographing the murders, fires, and accidents of the troubled city. By wiring his room to pick up signals from the police radio dispatcher, Weegee was often one of the first to arrive at scenes of violence and catastrophe, earning him his nickname (after the Ouija board) for his seemingly uncanny ability to know where disaster was going to strike. In contrast to Evans' and Levitt's photographs, Weegee's works, such as
Copkiller (Booked on Suspicion of Killing a Policeman—Anthony Esposito, Accused "Copkiller") (1941), are often shocking and filled with a gritty immediacy.
William Klein
William Klein (born 1928)
Dance in Brooklyn, 1955
gelatin silver print, 39.2 x 26.8 cm (15 7/16 x 10 9/16)
National Gallery of Art, Washington, The Diana and Mallory Walker Fund, 2006.71.6
William Klein (born 1928)
Boy + Girl + Swing, New York, 1955
gelatin silver print, printed 1980s, image: 45.4 x 31.7 cm (17 7/8 x 12 1/2); sheet: 50.4 x 40.5
cm (19 13/16 x 15 15/16)
National Gallery of Art, Washington, Patrons' Permanent Fund, 2001.67.117
William Klein (born 1928)
Selwyn, 42nd Street, New York, 1955
gelatin silver print, printed 1980s, image: 45.4 x 33.5 cm (17 7/8 x 13 3/16); sheet: 50.2 x 40.5
cm (19 3/4 x 15 15/16)
National Gallery of Art, Washington, Patrons' Permanent Fund, 2001.67.121
William Klein, a native New Yorker, spent the decade after World War II in Paris studying painting with Fernand Léger and taking up photography. He returned to New York to work for Vogue, but also began to experiment with photography on the city streets using a wide angle lens, extreme close–ups, and harsh printing methods. A recurring theme in his work is children at play with toy guns. These photographs, such as Boy + Gun + Girl, New York (1955), are a startling juxtaposition of innocence and violence, humor and aggression.
In the mid–1940s Louis Faurer moved from his hometown of Philadelphia to New York, where he met and shared a studio with Robert Frank. Not as interested in violence as Weegee, Faurer claimed the "hypnotic dusk light led him to Times Square," where he photographed daily, immersing himself in the culture of postwar America and reveling in the occasionally bizarre aspects of the city.
Viennese–born Lisette Model was another highly influential figure at this time. Soon after she moved to New York in 1938, she found that her direct and uncompromising photographs perfectly suited the aggressive character of the city.
Alexey Brodovitch often published her photographs in Harper's Bazaar, but she most strongly exerted her influence on other photographers through the courses she taught at the New School for Social Research in New York.
Diane Arbus, whose early work is also included in the exhibition, was one of her most well–known students.
The exhibition also featured examples of photography books from the National Gallery of Art library. Inspired by Evans' American Photographs (1938), many photographers aspired to publish their own books. Unlike commercial magazines, books allowed photographers creative control over the format and content of the book. Books also provided them with a means to circulate their work widely. Books by Evans, Weegee, Klein, Roy DeCarava, and Frank were included.
Other Photos in exhibit:
Ted Croner (1922 – 2005), Times Square Montage, printed c. 1970, gelatin silver print. National Gallery of Art, Washington, The Diana and Mallory Walker Fund, 2006.71.3.
Robert Frank (born Switzerland, 1924)
Street Line, New York, 1951
gelatin silver print, image: 35.1 x 22.9 cm (13 13/16 x 9); sheet: 35.2 x 31.3 cm (13 7/8 x 12
Robert Frank (born Switzerland, 1924)
Tickertape, New York City, 1948
gelatin silver print
National Gallery of Art, Washington, Robert Frank Collection, Gift of Robert Frank, 1990.28.24
Robert Frank (born Switzerland, 1924)
Central Park South, 1948
gelatin silver print, sheet, trimmed to image: 33.7 x 26.2 cm (13 1/4 x 10 5/16)
National Gallery of Art, Washington, Robert Frank Collection, Gift of Robert Frank, 1990.28.25
Robert Frank (born Switzerland, 1924)
11th Street and Broadway, 1951
gelatin silver print mounted on paperboard, sheet, trimmed to image: 32.5 x 26.7 cm (12 13/16
x 10 1/2)
National Gallery of Art, Washington, Robert Frank Collection, Gift of Robert Frank, 1990.28.1
Robert Frank (born Switzerland, 1924)
NYC for A.B., 1947
gelatin silver print, image: 31.3 x 14.1 cm (12 5/16 x 5 9/16)
National Gallery of Art, Washington, Robert Frank Collection, Gift of the Glen Eagles
Foundation, 1992.93.8
Lisette Model (1906 - 1983)
Woman with shawl, New York City,
gelatin silver print, 48.1 x 39 cm (18 15/16 x 15 3/8)
National Gallery of Art, Washington, Gift of Mr. and Mrs. David C. Ruttenberg courtesy of the
Ruttenberg Arts Foundation, 2002.152.19
Lisette Model (1906 - 1983)
Fashion show, Hotel Pierre, New York City,
gelatin silver print, 39 x 48.8 cm (15 3/8 x 19 3/16)
National Gallery of Art, Washington, Gift of Mr. and Mrs. David C. Ruttenberg courtesy of the
Ruttenberg Arts Foundation, 2002.152.11
Lisette Model (1906 - 1983)
Woman at Coney Island, New York,
gelatin silver print, 48.1 x 38.8 cm (18 15/16 x 15 1/4)
National Gallery of Art, Washington, Gift of Mr. and Mrs. David C. Ruttenberg courtesy of the
Ruttenberg Arts Foundation, 2002.152.17
Helen Levitt (born 1918)
New York, 1939
gelatin silver print, sheet, trimmed to image: 14.3 x 18.6 cm (5 3/4 x 7 3/8)
National Gallery of Art, Washington, Patrons' Permanent Fund, 1995.36.98
Helen Levitt (born 1918)
New York, c. 1942
gelatin silver print, image: 16.2 x 23.5 cm (6 3/8 x 9 1/4); sheet: 27.7 x 35.5 cm (10 7/8 x 14)
National Gallery of Art, Washington, Patrons' Permanent Fund, 1995.36.96
Lisette Model (1906 - 1983)
42nd Street from the Sixth Avenue Subway, New York, 1942
gelatin silver print, 27.6 x 34.5 cm (10 7/8 x 13 9/16)
National Gallery of Art, Washington, Gift of Marvin Breckinridge Patterson, 1998.137.1
Roy DeCarava (born 1919)
Hallway, 1953
gelatin silver print, 32.9 x 21.8 cm (12 15/16 x 8 9/16)
National Gallery of Art, Washington, Gift of the Roy and Sherry DeCarava Foundation, 1999.41.1
Roy DeCarava (born 1919)
Car behind building, 1953
gelatin silver print, 33.2 x 22 cm (13 1/16 x 8 11/16)
National Gallery of Art, Washington, New Century Fund, Fund for Living Photographers,
1999.67.1
Ted Croner (1922 - 2005)
Cafeteria, New York City, 1947
gelatin silver print, sheet, trimmed to image: 26.3 x 35.5 cm (10 3/8 x 14)
National Gallery of Art, Washington, Patrons' Permanent Fund, 2001.67.63
Helen Levitt (born 1918)
New York, c. 1942
gelatin silver print, sheet, trimmed to image: 18.6 x 24.8 cm (7 5/16 x 9 3/4)
National Gallery of Art, Washington, Gift of William H. Levitt, 2000.113.1
Louis Faurer (1916 - 2001)
Duffy Square, New York, N.Y., c. 1947
gelatin silver print, printed 1981, image: 31.8 x 21 cm (12 1/2 x 8 1/4); sheet: 35.4 x 27.8 cm
(13 15/16 x 10 15/16)
National Gallery of Art, Washington, Joshua P. Smith Collection, 2001.128.30
Louis Faurer (1916 - 2001)
New York, N.Y., 1947
gelatin silver print, sheet, trimmed to image: 22.9 x 34 cm (9 x 13 3/8)
National Gallery of Art, Washington, Joshua P. Smith Collection, 2001.128.29
Louis Faurer (1916 - 2001)
New York, N.Y., 1946
gelatin silver print, sheet, trimmed to image: 21.8 x 33.3 cm (8 9/16 x 13 1/8)
National Gallery of Art, Washington, Joshua P. Smith Collection, 2001.128.24
Louis Faurer (1916 - 2001)
Broadway, New York, N.Y., 1950
gelatin silver print, printed 1981, image: 21.1 x 31.2 cm (8 5/16 x 12 5/16); sheet: 26.9 x 33.1
cm (10 9/16 x 13 1/16)
National Gallery of Art, Washington, Joshua P. Smith Collection, 2001.128.37
Sid Grossman (1913 - 1955)
Coney Island, 1947-1948
gelatin silver print, sheet, trimmed to image: 22.7 x 19 cm (8 15/16 x 7 1/2)
National Gallery of Art, Washington, Patrons' Permanent Fund, 2001.67.88.
File Name: 252-033.jpg
Sid Grossman (1913 - 1955)
Coney Island, 1947-1948
gelatin silver print, image: 20 x 19.9 cm (7 7/8 x 7 13/16); sheet: 20.9 x 20.1 cm (8 1/4 x 7
15/16)
National Gallery of Art, Washington, Patrons' Permanent Fund, 2001.67.87
Sid Grossman (1913 - 1955)
Aguadulce, Panama, c. 1945
gelatin silver print mounted on hardboard
National Gallery of Art, Washington, Patrons' Permanent Fund, 2001.67.86
William Klein (born 1928)
Boy + Gun + Girl, New York, 1955
gelatin silver print, sheet, trimmed to image: 27.2 x 34.6 cm (10 11/16 x 13 5/8)
National Gallery of Art, Washington, Patrons' Permanent Fund, 2001.67.118
William Klein (born 1928)
Four Heads, New York, 1954
gelatin silver print, printed 1980s, image: 42.1 x 29.7 cm (16 9/16 x 11 11/16); sheet: 48.8 x
39.8 cm (19 3/16 x 15 11/16)
National Gallery of Art, Washington, Patrons' Permanent Fund, 2001.67.116
William Klein (born 1928)
Toy Ball, Waldorf, New York, 1955
gelatin silver print, printed 1980s, image: 33 x 45.3 cm (13 x 17 13/16); sheet: 40.3 x 50.2 cm
(15 7/8 x 19 3/4)
National Gallery of Art, Washington, Patrons' Permanent Fund, 2001.67.122
Leon Levinstein (1913 - 1988)
Coney Island, 1960s
gelatin silver print, sheet, trimmed to image: 35.2 x 27.5 cm (13 7/8 x 10 13/16)
National Gallery of Art, Washington, Patrons' Permanent Fund, 2001.67.127
Leon Levinstein (1913 - 1988)
Coney Island, c. 1960
gelatin silver print, image: 26.8 x 34.3 cm (10 9/16 x 13 1/2)
National Gallery of Art, Washington, Patrons' Permanent Fund, 2001.67.126
Helen Levitt (born 1918)
New York, c. 1942
gelatin silver print, sheet: 15.9 x 24.2 cm (6 1/4 x 9 1/2)
National Gallery of Art, Washington, Patrons' Permanent Fund, 2001.67.134
File Name: 252-043.jpg
Sol Libsohn (1914 - 2001)
29th Street, West of 5th Avenue, c. 1940
gelatin silver print, sheet, trimmed to image: 33.4 x 22.8 cm (13 1/8 x 9)
National Gallery of Art, Washington, Patrons' Permanent Fund, 2001.67.136
Lisette Model (1906 - 1983)
Bud Powell, 1956-1958
gelatin silver print, sheet, trimmed to image: 27.2 x 34.9 cm (10 11/16 x 13 3/4)
National Gallery of Art, Washington, Patrons' Permanent Fund, 2001.67.160
Lisette Model (1906 - 1983)
Singer, Caf_ Metropole, 1945
gelatin silver print, image: 35 x 27.5 cm (13 3/4 x 10 13/16); sheet: 35.3 x 27.8 cm (13 7/8 x 10
15/16)
National Gallery of Art, Washington, Patrons' Permanent Fund, 2001.67.159
Louis Stettner (born 1922)
Times Square, New York City, 1952-1954
gelatin silver print, sheet, trimmed to image: 42.1 x 27.5 cm (16 9/16 x 10 13/16); mount: 50.7
x 34.5 cm (19 15/16 x 13 9/16)
National Gallery of Art, Washington, Patrons' Permanent Fund, 2001.67.208
Louis Stettner (born 1922)
Sailor, Times Square, New York City, 1951-1953
gelatin silver print, sheet, trimmed to image: 34.5 x 22.9 cm (13 9/16 x 9)
National Gallery of Art, Washington, Patrons' Permanent Fund, 2001.67.209
Weegee (1899 - 1968)
Boy Shooting "Zip" Gun in Air near Manhattan Police Headquarters, Mulberry and Mott
Streets (Section Called "Little Italy"), New York City, 1948
gelatin silver print, image: 33.8 x 27.3 cm (13 5/16 x 10 3/4); sheet: 35.5 x 28.6 cm (14 x 11
1/4)
National Gallery of Art, Washington, Patrons' Permanent Fund, 2001.67.223
Weegee (1899 - 1968)
Puritan, 1945
gelatin silver print, image: 34 x 27.2 cm (13 3/8 x 10 11/16); sheet: 35.5 x 28.6 cm (14 x 11 1/4)
National Gallery of Art, Washington, Patrons' Permanent Fund, 2001.67.222
File Name: 252-053.jpg
Weegee (1899 - 1968)
Frank Pape, Arrested for Homicide, November 10, 1944
gelatin silver print, image: 33.8 x 26.1 cm (13 5/16 x 10 1/4); sheet: 35.4 x 27.7 cm (13 15/16 x
10 7/8)
National Gallery of Art, Washington, Patrons' Permanent Fund, 2001.67.221
Weegee (1899 - 1968)
The Critic, 1943
gelatin silver print, 26.5 x 33.6 cm (10 7/16 x 13 1/4)
National Gallery of Art, Washington, Patrons' Permanent Fund, 2001.67.217
Helen Levitt (born 1918)
New York, c. 1938
gelatin silver print, sheet, trimmed to image: 18.3 x 23.3 cm (7 3/16 x 9 3/16); mount: 24.7 x
28.3 cm (9 3/4 x 11 1/8)
National Gallery of Art, Washington, Gift of the R. K. Mellon Family Foundation, 2003.52.1
Saul Leiter (born 1923)
Through Boards, 1957
chromogenic print, printed c. 1998, 33.5 x 22.5 cm (13 3/16 x 8 7/8)
National Gallery of Art, Washington, Gift of Saul Leiter
Saul Leiter (born 1923)
Snow, 1960
chromogenic print, printed 2005, 33.5 x 22.5 cm (13 3/16 x 8 7/8)
National Gallery of Art, Washington, Gift of Saul Leiter
Alexey Brodovitch (American, born Russia, 1898 - 1971)
Untitled from "Ballet" series, 1933-1935
gelatin silver print, printed c. 1945, 20.4 x 27.5 cm (8 1/16 x 10 13/16)
National Gallery of Art, Washington, The Diana and Mallory Walker Fund, 2006.71.1
Alexey Brodovitch (American, born Russia, 1898 - 1971)
Untitled from "Ballet" series, 1933-1935
gelatin silver print, printed c. 1945, 20.6 x 27.8 cm (8 1/8 x 10 15/16)
National Gallery of Art, Washington, The Diana and Mallory Walker Fund, 2006.71.2
File Name: 252-060.jpg
Paul Himmel (born 1914)
Grand Central Station, 1947
gelatin silver print, 25.7 x 34.6 cm (10 1/8 x 13 5/8)
National Gallery of Art, Washington, The Diana and Mallory Walker Fund, 2006.71.5
Saul Leiter (born 1923)
Street Scene, 1947
gelatin silver print, 19.6 x 28.9 cm (7 11/16 x 11 3/8)
National Gallery of Art, Washington, The Diana and Mallory Walker Fund, 2006.71.7
Diane Arbus (1923 - 1971)
Female Impersonator with Jewels, NYC, 1958
gelatin silver print, printed 1975 by Neil Selkirk, image: 21.6 x 14.4 cm (8 1/2 x 5 11/16); sheet:
35.6 x 27.7 cm (14 x 10 7/8)
National Gallery of Art, Washington, The Gay Block & Malka Drucker Philanthropic Fund of the
Houston Jewish Community Foundation
File Name: 252-066.jpg
David Vestal (born 1924)
From 21st Street and Broadway, New York, 1959
gelatin silver print, 33.6 x 21.8 cm (13 1/4 x 8 9/16)
National Gallery of Art, Washington, The Diana and Mallory Walker Fund
David Vestal (born 1924)
Empire State Building, New York, 1960
gelatin silver print, 22.8 x 34.5 cm (9 x 13 9/16)
National Gallery of Art, Washington, The Diana and Mallory Walker Fund
David Vestal (born 1924)
From 133 W 22nd Street, New York, 1958
gelatin silver print, 34.8 x 23.4 cm (13 11/16 x 9 3/16)
National Gallery of Art, Washington, The Diana and Mallory Walker Fund
Richard Avedon (1923 - 2004)
W.H. Auden, poet, St. Mark's Place, New York City, March 3, 1960/printed 1994
gelatin silver print, 60.3 x 48.3 cm (23 3/4 x 19); 69.9 x 82.6 x 5.1 cm (27 1/2 x 32 1/2 x 2)
The Richard Avedon Foundation, courtesy Fraenkel Gallery, San Francisco
Diane Arbus (1923 - 1971)
Couple Arguing, Coney Island, New York, 1960, printed later
Gelatin silver print, 35.6 x 27.9 cm (14 x 11)
Fraenkel Gallery, San Francisco
Alexey Brodovitch (American, born Russia, 1898 - 1971)
Ballet, New York: J.J. Augustin, 1945
Howard Greenberg
Bruce Davidson (born 1933)
Brooklyn Gang Series, 1959
Gelatin silver print, 27.9 x 35.6 cm (11 x 14)
Sandra Berler Gallery
