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 (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 (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
$3,700
H 11.63 in W 8 in D 0.01 in
Frida at the Barbizon Plaza Hotel - Black and White Portrait, Celebrity, Woman
By Lucienne Bloch
Located in Denton, TX
Frida at the Barbizon Plaza Hotel by Lucienne Bloch is a black and white portrait of Mexican painter Frida Kahlo sitting in a chair under her self portrait hanging on the wall. Im...
Silver Gelatin
Penthouse Pool, Athens (Slim Aarons Estate Edition)
By Slim Aarons
Located in New York, NY
Penthouse Pool, 1961 Archival pigment print Estate stamped and hand numbered edition of 150 with certificate of authenticity from the estate. Young women by the Canellopoulos pentho...
C Print
$3,200
H 20 in W 16 in
Alice Cooper Family Silver Gelatin Print, O'Neill Estate Signature Stamped ED.50
By Terry O'Neill
Located in New York, NY
Alice Cooper, Los Angeles, 1974, Printed Later Silver gelatin print estate stamped and numbered edition of 50 with certificate of authenticity Terry O'Neill, Alice Cooper with his...
Silver Gelatin
$5,400
H 40 in W 60 in
Poolside Party - Limited Slim Aarons Estate Print
By Slim Aarons
Located in London, GB
Slim Aarons Estate Limited Edition C print 40 x 30 inches / 101 x 76 cm unframed. ' Poolside Party ' A poolside party at a desert house, designed by Richard Neutra for Edgar J. K...
C Print, Color
$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: title, signature, dated 1977, copyright 1982, and edition 1/10 to verso. View down Walnut St. of St. Louis' city hall building. ...
Photographic Paper, C Print
$7,000
H 40 in W 30 in
Honor Blackman (Pussy Galore), 1964 Terry O'Neill Estate Limited Edition Print
By Terry O'Neill
Located in New York, NY
Honor Blackman (Pussy Galore), 1964 Silver gelatin print Estate signature stamped and numbered edition of 50 English actress Honor Blackman on a beach, circa 1964. Splashes on the s...
Silver Gelatin
Grace Jones and Andre Leon Talley at Studio 54
By Andy Warhol
Located in Beverly Hills, CA
This is a unique photographic work taken by Andy Warhol. Grace Jones is a musician and former model. A former star of the Studio 54 disco scene, she is known for her androgynous appearance, bold features, and subversive antics, making her one of the biggest pop stars of the 1980s. Andre Leon Talley...
Silver Gelatin
Jon Gould in leather jacket
By Andy Warhol
Located in Beverly Hills, CA
This is a unique photographic print taken by Andy Warhol of his boyfriend, Jon Gould. Jon Gould and Andy Warhol met in 1980 when Warhol was 51 and Gould was ...
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
$20,000
H 10 in W 2 in
Andy Warhol, Photo Booth Strip of Sandy Brant, circa 1967-1970
By Andy Warhol
Located in Beverly Hills, CA
This is a unique work created under the direction of Andy Warhol. In the early days, before he toted around a camera, he would have clients portraits taken at local photo booths. Image dimensions: 10 x 2 in Framed dimensions: 15 3/8 x 8 1/4 in Stamped twice on the reverse by both The Estate of Andy Warhol and The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts. The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts inventory number written on verso. Work comes with a Certificate of Authenticity from The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts. Provenance: Estate of the Artist to The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts to current owner. Exhibition history -Fotografiska Berlin / Andy Warhol “After the Party...
Silver Gelatin
Photograph of a Male Model at The Factory
By Andy Warhol
Located in Beverly Hills, CA
This is a unique photographic work taken by Andy Warhol of a male model at The Factory at 860 Broadway circa the late 1970s or early 1980s. Image dimensions: 10 x 8 in. Framed dimen...
Silver Gelatin
Photograph of Stephen Sprouse seated
By Andy Warhol
Located in Beverly Hills, CA
This is a unique photographic work taken by Andy Warhol. Stephen Sprouse was a fashion designer who pioneered a New York "punk couture" aesthetic. He is credited with influencing the transition of the SoHo district of Manhattan in the 1980s from a seedy, crime-ridden neighborhood into the center of taste it is today. This photograph is published in: America Andy...
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 ("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