Art Shay

Buddy Guy, 1966, Chicago Blues Guitarist, Silver Gelatin Black & White Photograph

circa 2017

“Art Shay’s photography shakes you up, sets you down gently, pats you on the head and then kicks you in the ass.” Roger Ebert “[Shay’s work] ranks with some of the greats of the 20...

This vintage silver gelatin print from Art Shay shows a football game between the Green Bay Packers and the Detroit Lions. Famed GB quarterback No. ...

Two-Time World Middleweight champion Tony Zale was know as the Man of Steel. He left the ring in 1948 and is shown here coaching youth in Chicago. The p...

Art Shay Brooklyn: Sisters, 1952 silver gelatin print 24.25 x 20.25 framed ASY103 Art Shay photographed the community of Brooklyn, IL for Ebony Magazine, 1952. These photographs are the result of that experience. Brooklyn (popularly known as Lovejoy), is a village in St. Clair County, Illinois, United States. Located two miles north of East St. Louis, Illinois and three miles northeast of downtown St. Louis, Missouri, it is the oldest town incorporated by African Americans in the United States. It was founded by freed and fugitive slaves from St. Louis, led by "Mother" Priscilla Baltimore in the period of 1829 to 1839. Its motto is "Founded by Chance, Sustained by Courage". “Art Shay’s photography shakes you up, sets you down gently, pats you on the head and then kicks you in the ass.” Roger Ebert “[Shay’s work] ranks with some of the greats of the 20th century.” Ellen & Richard Sandor, Renowned photo collectors “I’ve admired Art Shay’s work for almost forty years, and he keeps getting better. He can do anything with a camera, but what he mostly does is capture real moments and transform them into visual poetry. His work continues to be an inspiration to me.” William Friedkin, Director of French Connection “Art Shay is one of our finest photographers. His work over the past fifty years has artfully captured the beauty, humor, and pathos of America.” Studs Terkel “Art Shay is one of the best photojournalists I know. I’ve been a fan of his work since the early 1950s - before the launch of playboy magazine.” Hugh Hefner Algren, Terkel, Royko, they gave us a voice. Art Shay gave us a face.” Tony Fitzpatrick, Chicago Artist “Art Shay is America’s Cartier-Bresson.” Thomas Dyja, author of The Third Coast “Chicago’s Art Shay in many ways is to American photography what Nelson Algren was to American writing: that rare and absolutely necessary citizen who’s blessed with a cold eye, a clear head, and a warm heart. What is it about Chicago that keeps giving us men like this?” Russell Banks, Novelist “The best images of Simone de Beauvoir and her times have been passed down to us by Henri Cartier-Bresson, Gisele Freund, Robert Doisneau, Georges Brassai, and in America, the Chicago-based Art Shay, all world-class photographers.” Christophe Loviny, Art Editor, Paris “Art Shay is the best photo-journalist Chicago ever produced.” Arthur Siegel...

“Art Shay’s photography shakes you up, sets you down gently, pats you on the head and then kicks you in the ass.” Roger Ebert “[Shay’s work] ranks with some of the greats of the 20...

Street Photography was a true love of Art Shay as is clearly evident in this 1949 Vintage Photo of a street transaction. The photograph is matted and framed in a simple black metal ...

First Steps, 1963 is a 7" x 9" gelatin silver photograph printed in the 1980s. Signed in ink on verso (back of photograph) by contemporary Czech artist Jan Saudek. Provenance: privat...

The Dancers, 1984 is an 8" x 8" vintage gelatin silver sepia-toned photograph by contemporary Czech artist Jan Saudek. Signed “Jan,” titled and dated “July 20-23, 1985” in ink below ...

Leonard Freed's stamped vintage (verso), 14" x 11," gelatin silver signed and hand-printed by Freed, Kate Standing, is from the Kate series, 2002. A photographer herself, model Kate ...

Handcuffed, New York City, 1978 is a 14" x 11" black and white lifetime print by Leonard Freed. Signed verso (back of photo) by Leonard Freed, with Freed's copyright stamp also verso, the image appears in Leonard Freed's seminal book "Police Work," published in 1980. For several years in the 1970s Leonard Freed worked alongside the New York police...

World Series Parade, New York City, 1954 by Leonard Freed, is an 11" x 14" gelatin silver later ("lifetime") print, signed on verso (back of print) by the photographer and stamped (magnum). The photograph was handprinted by Leonard Freed. Parade by Freed captures the joy of two majorettes en route in the streets of the city for the celebration of the New York Giants...

Office Party, New York City, 1966 by Leonard Freed is a gelatin silver later print, 16 x 20, signed verso (on back) by the photographer. Freed enjoyed sto...