Helen Levitt often commented that the reason she expressed herself through photography was that she was inarticulate with the spoken word. One of the most celebrated photographers of the 20th century among her peers but least known by the public, from a young age she wanted to create art but knew her talents with a paintbrush or a charcoal pencil were limited. She discovered a way to artistically express herself — through the lens of a camera.
Levitt was born in Brooklyn, New York. At 18, she dropped out of high school to work in a portrait photographer’s darkroom — eventually trying her hand at photography. She trained herself to take better compositions by studying paintings in museums around New York and then using her mother’s friends as practice subjects. In 1936, after discovering the works of French photographer Henri Cartier-Bresson she purchased her first camera and began to take pictures of neighborhood children making sidewalk chalk drawings.
Levitt took her portfolio to the studio of Walker Evans — another photographer which she admired. Struck by her thoughtful compositions and natural talent, he hired her as his assistant. She began photographing ordinary street life in the lower-class neighborhoods of East Harlem, the Lower East Side and the Garment District in New York City.
In 1939, Levitt’s photographs were published in Fortune magazine. Later that same year, she received a grant from the Museum of Modern Art in New York and the Guggenheim Foundation. Seeing a similarity in film noir to what she was trying to capture in black and white photography, she became a film editor. She worked on several films including The Quiet One, an Academy Award nominee.
In 1959 Levitt began to photograph in color but eventually returned to black and white photography in the 1990s. A collection of her photographs of children and their chalk drawings were eventually published, in 1987, in a book called In the Street: Chalk Drawings and Messages. Some of her color photographs were published in Slide Show in 2005.
On 1stDibs find original Helen Levitt black and white photography, portrait photography, color photography and more.
New York City (gumball machine)
By Helen Levitt
Located in New York, NY
Dye transfer print. Signed in pencil on verso. Beginning in the late 1930's, Helen Levitt's ability to capture expressive gesture established her reputation as a master of lyrical p...
Photography, Dye Transfer
New York (three kids with masks)
By Helen Levitt
Located in New York, NY
One of Helen Levitt's most iconic images - three city kids emerging from a brownstone on Halloween. In her book "The Way of Seeing," Levitt's close friend, the author James Agee, not...
Silver Gelatin
New York City
By Helen Levitt
Located in New York, NY
What makes Helen Levitt’s photos of children unique and treasured, is that she truly valued the unpredictable quality of children’s play. One of the charms of this picture is the pri...
Silver Gelatin, Photography
New York
By Helen Levitt
Located in New York, NY
All the elements of a classic Helen Levitt photograph are in place here: the stoop of a Manhattan brownstone, a couple of ragamuffin children, a rich tableau of expressive body lang...
Silver Gelatin, Photography
New York City (man with camera)
By Helen Levitt
Located in New York, NY
Gelatin silver print, printed later. Signed and notated "N.Y. 1988" on verso. Helen Levitt was a true master of the street, one whose poetic vision, humor, and inventiveness transfo...
Silver Gelatin, Photography
New York (consoling woman)
By Helen Levitt
Located in New York, NY
11 x 14 inch gelatin silver print. Image size 7.25 x 10.75 inches. Signed on verso Helen Levitt was a true master of the street, one whose poetic vision, humor, and inventiveness tr...
Silver Gelatin
Jacqueline Kennedy Sits at JFK's Senate Desk in 1959
By Mark Shaw
Located in New York, NY
Jacqueline Kennedy sits at JFK’s senate desk in 1959. Image size 10" x 15"/Paper size 11" x 17" All Mark Shaw prints are made to order in limited editio...
Photography
Ted Higby at Skyline Rodeo, 1928
By Lora Webb Nichols
Located in New York, NY
Listing includes framing with UV plexiglas, free shipping and a 14 day return policy. Ted Higby at Skyline Rodeo, 1928 15 x 12 inch gelatin silver print Image Size: 14 x 8.5 inches Frame size: 22.5 x 17.5 x 2 inches Edition of 15 Lora Webb Nichols was born in 1883 and grew up in the small mining town of Encampment, Wyoming. At the age of 16 Lora received her first camera and from that moment and for the next few decades she produced work that is both stunning in its singular voice and revealing in the world it opens up for us. At first Nichols photographed her family, friends, and the landscape around Encampment, but when the town experienced a copper mining boom Nichols expanded her scope to become a photographer for hire shooting portraits and industrial photographs. When the boom collapsed, Nichols took the risk of opening her own business in Encampment - The Rocky Mountain Studio - which opened in 1925. The studio ran for ten years, accumulating 24,000 negatives that illustrate the lives and environment of the people living in and around the town while creating a distinctive and surprising body of work. If one was to attempt an analogy – Nichols’ pictures fit somewhere between Lartigue and Lange - joyful and generous while objectively intimate. In particular what seems to distinguish Nichols’ work is the way she sees the world from a female perspective. As Vince Aletti...
Silver Gelatin
Jacqueline Kennedy and John Jr. in Palm Beach, 1963
By Mark Shaw
Located in New York, NY
Jacqueline Kennedy and John Jr. in Palm Beach, 1963. Image size 10" x 15"/Paper size 11" x 17" All Mark Shaw prints are made to order in limit...
Photography
Audrey Hepburn Wearing Claire McCardell for Mademoiselle Magazine
By Mark Shaw
Located in New York, NY
Audrey Hepburn was photographed for the June 1954 issue of Mademoiselle. Her dress is a Claire McCardell creation. Image size 10" x 10"/Paper size 11" x 17" All Mark Shaw prints a...
Photography
Untitled Portrait
By Seydou Keïta
Located in New York, NY
Listing includes framing with UV Plexi ($900 value), free shipping, and a 14-day return policy. Seydou Keïta Untitled Portrait, 1952 - 1955 (02158) 23...
Photographic Film, Photographic Paper, Silver Gelatin
$950
H 20.63 in W 16.75 in D 1.38 in
New York City Skyscrapers, July 1931, Silver Gelatin B and W Photography Framed
By Press Agency Keystone View Company
Located in Atlanta, GA
An original silver gelatin black and white photograph by Press Agency Keystone View Company. New York City skyscrapers view, taken on July 7th, 1931, with the Empire State Building ...
Silver Gelatin
$1,369
H 8.15 in W 10.01 in D 0.02 in
The Beatles, Office, Black and White Photography, 20, 7 x 25, 4 cm
Located in Cologne, DE
The Beatles were an English rock band formed in Liverpool in 1960. With a line-up comprising John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr, they are regarded as the mo...
Silver Gelatin
$350
H 16 in W 20 in D 0.02 in
Murray Garrett 'Frank Sinatra' Archival Photograph by Getty, 16x20
By Murray Garrett
Located in San Rafael, CA
American singer and actor Frank Sinatra (1915 - 1998) gestures with his hands while singing into a microphone during a recording session in a studio at Capitol Records, early 1950s. ...
Archival Paper
Varanasi, India
By Pentti Sammallahti
Located in Sante Fe, NM
Pentti Sammallahti is a benchmark figure in contemporary Finnish photography. His works depict nature eroded and broken down by civilization, but he does not put man and the environm...
Silver Gelatin
$513
H 6.46 in W 8.47 in D 0.02 in
Marilyn Monroe (Norma Jean) as little child, ca. 1927, 16, 4 x 21, 5 cm
Located in Cologne, DE
Norma Jeane Mortenson or better known as Marilyn Monroe – iconic, beautiful and maybe the most known Hollywood Stars of the 20th century. Born and raised in Los Angeles, USA, she spe...
Silver Gelatin, Black and White
Under the Rain
By Tyler Shields
Located in New York City, NY
Available Sizes: 18 x 18 Edition of 3 30 x 30 Edition of 3 45 x 45 Edition of 3 60 x 60 Edition of 3 Los Angeles-based photographer Tyler Shields seeks “beauty in chaos,” capturing ...
C Print
$1,369
H 8.15 in W 10.01 in D 0.02 in
The Beatles, Office, Black and White Photography, 20, 7 x 25, 4 cm
Located in Cologne, DE
The Beatles were an English rock band formed in Liverpool in 1960. With a line-up comprising John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr, they are regarded as the mo...
Silver Gelatin
$1,369
H 10.01 in W 8.15 in D 0.02 in
The Beatles, Office, Black and White Photography, 25, 4 x 20, 7 cm
Located in Cologne, DE
The Beatles were an English rock band formed in Liverpool in 1960. With a line-up comprising John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr, they are regarded as the mo...
Silver Gelatin
Audrey Hepburn Wearing Claire McCardell for Mademoiselle Magazine
By Mark Shaw
Located in New York, NY
Audrey Hepburn was photographed for the June 1954 issue of Mademoiselle. Her dress is a Claire McCardell creation. Image size 10" x 10"/Paper size 11" x 17" All Mark Shaw prints a...
Photography
$2,450
H 10 in W 8 in D 0.065 in
Art Critic (Standing Before Monumental Framed Post War Abstraction)
By Henry Rox 1
Located in Camden, ME
Henry Rox (1899–1967) Art Critic (Standing Before Monumental Framed Post War Abstraction) c. 1948 Vintage silver gelatin print 8 × 10 inches Printed c. 1948 Estate stamp verso This ...
Silver Gelatin
New York (three kids with masks)
By Helen Levitt
Located in New York, NY
8 1/8 x 11 inch gelatin silver print, printed later. Titled and dated by the artist on verso as "N.Y. circa 1942." Helen Levitt was a true master of the street, one whose poetic vis...
Silver Gelatin
New York (one boy consoling another)
By Helen Levitt
Located in New York, NY
7 x 11 inch gelatin silver print - signed, titled, and dated on verso. Provenance - from the James Agee Family Collection Helen Levitt was a true master of ...
Silver Gelatin
New York City (boys dancing)
By Helen Levitt
Located in New York, NY
This 14 x 11 inch gelatin silver print was printed in the 1980s, and is signed on verso. Helen Levitt was a true master of the street, one whose poetic vision, humor, and inventiven...
Silver Gelatin
N.Y.C. (5₵ Soda)
By Helen Levitt
Located in New York, NY
Helen Levitt made her images of children's chalk drawings early in her career. The prints she produced were traditionally small in scale. In 2000, she and our gallery launched a proj...
Silver Gelatin
N.Y.C. (Button to Secret Passage)
By Helen Levitt
Located in New York, NY
Helen Levitt made her images of children's chalk drawings early in her career. The prints she produced were traditionally small in scale. In 2000, she and our gallery launched a proj...
Silver Gelatin
Poster Girl, NYC
By Helen Levitt
Located in New York, NY
Helen Levitt was a true master of the street, one whose poetic vision, humor, and inventiveness transformed the gritty world of New York City’s poorer neighborhoods into captivating,...
Silver Gelatin
New York (rolling record)
By Helen Levitt
Located in New York, NY
14 x 11 inch gelatin silver print, signed by the artist on verso. 10.75 x 7.5 inch image size Helen Levitt was a true master of the street, one whose poetic vision, humor, and inven...
Silver Gelatin
New York City (cops and robbers)
By Helen Levitt
Located in New York, NY
Helen Levitt was a true master of the street, one whose poetic vision, humor, and inventiveness transformed the gritty world of New York City’s poorer neighborhoods into captivating,...
Silver Gelatin
New York City (woman reaching out)
By Helen Levitt
Located in New York, NY
11 x 14 inch gelatin silver print (image size 5.6 x 8.25 inches) Signed on verso. Helen Levitt was a true master of the street, one whose poetic vision, humor, and inventiveness ...
Silver Gelatin
New York City (broken mirror)
By Helen Levitt
Located in New York, NY
20 x 16 inch gelatin silver print, signed on verso. This is one of only a handful of prints of this iconic image that were printed in this larger size. It was usually printed in a 14...
Silver Gelatin
New York City (3 kids with masks)
By Helen Levitt
Located in New York, NY
11 x 14 inch gelatin silver print, 1939 (printed later) Signed on verso Helen Levitt was a true master of the street, one whose poetic vision, humor, and inventiveness transforme...
Silver Gelatin