New York City as Captured by Elliott Erwitt
Late photographer Elliott Erwitt was perhaps best known for his humorous images of dogs taken on the streets of New York City but his body of work is an important documentation of the Big Apple.
Starting his picture-taking career in the late 1940s, Erwitt began capturing his adopted city. His black-and-white photos freezing a bygone era.
Erwitt’s masterful photos are being released in a revised book simply entitled New York which features images of mid-20th century daily life and a few well-known faces such as Marilyn Monroe.
“A beautiful way to celebrate Erwitt’s legacy, the photo book perfectly reflects New York and its soul,” writes a press release for publisher teNeues.
“Celebrities stand alongside everyday New Yorkers, everyday moments shaped contemporary history in a cheerful and sometimes slightly quirky manner, characteristic of Erwitt’s work.
“It’s no wonder he is considered one of the best street photographers in the world. His images are not only vivid and authentic but are also characterized by a special irony derived from the everyday situations they originate from. This photo book is enjoyable to look at time and time again, always offering fresh surprises.”
Not all of the photos are from the 1940s and 1950s. Erwitt lived in New York most of his life and there are photos taken later on — including an amusing one of a gaggle of photographers jostling for a vantage spot,
Erwitt died last November aged 95 years old. He was born Elio Romano Erwitt in Paris on July 26th, 1928, to Jewish-Russian parents. After spending his childhood in Milan, Italy, his family emigrated to the United States with his family in 1939 when he was ten years old. In 1953 he joined Magnum Photos as a freelancer photographer and served as Magnum’s president for three years in the late 1960s.
PetaPixel recently reported that Erwitt’s fabulous Long Island home that comes complete with a photo studio is on the market.
Elliott Erwitt’s New York is on sale for $60 now and is published by teNeues.
Image credits: Photographs by Elliott Erwitt
