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 City (striped socks)
By Helen Levitt
Located in New York, NY
12 x 8 inch type-c print, signed on verso. Helen Levitt was a true master of the street, one whose poetic vision, humor, and inventiveness transformed the gritty world of New York C...
C Print
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 (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 ay of Seeing," Levitt's close friend, the author James Agee, note...
Silver Gelatin
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
'Quiet Moment' (Limited Edition)
By Edward Feingersh
Located in London, GB
'Quiet Moment' by Ed Feingersh Actress Marilyn Monroe relaxes on a couch in her hotel room at the Ambassador Hotel on March 24, 1955 in New York City, New York. A beautiful and mor...
Silver Gelatin
Jaybirds
By Adam Jahiel
Located in Sante Fe, NM
For years, Jahiel has been photographing the cowboys of the Great Basin–perhaps one of the most inhospitable regions of the already rugged West. These people represent one of the l...
Silver Gelatin
Man with Tattooed Forehead
By Robert Doisneau
Located in New York, NY
Gelatin silver print, vintage Studio stamp in red ink, verso 12 x 9.5 inches, sheet Robert Doisneau (1912-1994), along with Henri Cartier-Bresson, was a pioneer of photojournalism, ...
Silver Gelatin
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
$3,750
H 24 in W 20 in
Apollonia wearing YSL in Barbados. Norman Parkinson for Vogue, 1973
By Norman Parkinson
Located in New York, NY
Norman Parkinson captures Apollonia van Ravenstein wearing YSL in Barbados. Vogue, July 1973 Apollonia wearing YSL in Barbados. Vogue 1973 (printed later) C print Estate stamped and...
C Print
Pulqueria, Mexico, 1926
By Edward Weston
Located in Carmel-by-the-Sea, CA
Museo De Arte Moderno, Mexico Bosque De Chapultepec, Exposicion Inaugural El Dia 20 De Septiembre De 1964’ stamp on verso with artist, title, collection, EW birth/death date, number,...
Silver Gelatin
Mark Spitz, Olympic Champion O'Neill Estate Edition of 50
By Terry O'Neill
Located in New York, NY
American swimmer Mark Spitz poses with the seven gold medals he won at the 1972 Munich Olympics. Mark Spitz 1972 (printed later) C-print 60 x 60 inches Estate signature stamped and ...
C Print
$761
H 11.74 in W 7.92 in D 0.02 in
Jackie Onassis, new girl in town; Black and White; Paris, 1970s, 29, 8 x 20, 1 cm
Located in Cologne, DE
Jacqueline Lee "Jackie" Kennedy Onassis (July 28, 1929 – May 19, 1994) was an American socialite, writer, and photographer who became First Lady of the United States as the wife of President John F. Kennedy. Her popularity as First Lady was due to her devotion to historical preservation of the White House, her fashion sense, and her devotion to her children, which endeared her to the American public. During her lifetime, Jackie was regarded as an international fashion icon. Her ensemble of a pink Chanel suit and matching pillbox hat that she wore in Dallas, Texas, when the president was assassinated on November 22, 1963, has become a symbol of her husband's death. (wikipedia) Description: Jacky Onassis, new...
Silver Gelatin, Black and White
$18,000
H 8 in W 10 in
Andy Warhol, Photograph of Barbara Allen and an Unidentified Man, circa 1978
By Andy Warhol
Located in Beverly Hills, CA
This is a unique photographic work of Barbara Allen with an unidentified man taken by Andy Warhol. 1977's "Girl of the Year," Barbara Allen de Kwiatkowsk...
Silver Gelatin
$526
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
$1,200
H 22.5 in W 28.5 in
St. Louis and the Arch Vintage Photograph Joel Meyerowitz Architectural Photo
By Joel Meyerowitz
Located in Surfside, FL
St. Louis and the Arch Vintage Photograph St. Louis and the Arch: titled, initialed, dated 1981, copyright 1982, and editioned 4/20 to verso. Provenance: US Bank Visual Arts Departm...
Photographic Paper, C Print
$5,400
H 40 in W 60 in
Yacht Holiday C Print by Slim Aarons, Estate Signed, 40x60"
By Slim Aarons
Located in New York, NY
Tanned bodies on the deck of Dino Pecci Blunt's yacht in Marbella, 1967. Slim Aarons Yacht Holiday 1967 C print (Printed later) Estate signature stamped and hand numbered edition of...
C Print
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 ("Spider Girl")
By Helen Levitt
Located in New York, NY
This work is one of Helen Levitt's most iconic color images, and one of only five images made as dye transfer prints. The image size measures 9.25 x 14.25 inches, and the print is si...
Dye Transfer
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
James Agee, King Street apartment
By Helen Levitt
Located in New York, NY
This is a vintage silver gelatin print, from the James Agee Family Collection. Levitt and Agee were close friends, and over the years Levitt gifted a number...
Silver Gelatin
James Agee
By Helen Levitt
Located in New York, NY
This is a mounted vintage silver gelatin print, from the James Agee Family Collection. Levitt and Agee were close friends, and over the years Levitt gifted ...
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