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 ay of Seeing," Levitt's close friend, the author James Agee, note...
Silver Gelatin
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 (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
'Huston & Brando On Set' (Silver Gelatin Print)
Located in London, GB
'Huston & Brando On Set' 1967 Director John Huston and actor Marlon Brando on the set of 'Reflections In A Golden Eye,' 1967. The two iconic movie stars on the set of the film in w...
Silver Gelatin
$4,444
H 24 in W 20 in
Fire Hydrant, Harlem, New York 1960s, Gelatin Silver Photograph, Signed, 24x20
By Leonard Freed
Located in New york, NY
Punctuated by documentary photo essays such as Black in White America, Fire Hydrant is one of Leonard Freed's most iconic in the Harlem, New York series. Two children enjoy a blissf...
Photographic Film, Photographic Paper, Silver Gelatin
'Marlon Brando & Vivien Leigh Smoking On-Set'
Located in London, GB
'Marlon Brando & Vivien Leigh Smoking On-Set' Marlon Brando and Vivien Leigh smoking cigarettes on the set of 'A Streetcar Named Desire,' 1951....
Silver Gelatin
$2,222
H 8 in W 10 in
Kate #10, Yoga, Black and White Photograph, Signed Vintage, 8x10 Inches
By Leonard Freed
Located in New york, NY
Kate #10, 2002 by Leonard Freed is an 8" x 10" hand printed black and white photograph from his nude series. Signed by the photographer the gelatin silver print is stamped "vintage" ...
Silver Gelatin, Photographic Film, Photographic Paper
$2,222
H 8 in W 10 in
Kate #11, Female Nude, Black and White Photograph, Signed Vintage, 8x10, 2002
By Leonard Freed
Located in New york, NY
Kate #11, 2002 by Leonard Freed is a signed verso (back of photo) 8" x 10" black and white photograph, hand printed, signed by the photographer and stamped "vintage" by the Freed es...
Silver Gelatin, Photographic Film, Photographic Paper
$4,444
H 24 in W 20 in
Bride, Italy, Black and White Photograph, Gelatin Silver, Signed, 24x20, 1958
By Leonard Freed
Located in New york, NY
Bride, Naples, Italy, 1958 by Leonard Freed is a black and white contemporary photograph, cinematic in nature. A gelatin silver photograph, signed by the photographer, 24" x 20" from the Freed archive. LITERATURE: W. A. Ewing, N. Herschdorfer, and W. van Sinderen, Worldview, Leonard Freed, Steidl, 2007, p. 73 and back cover. Leonard Freed discovered Little Italy in New York...
Silver Gelatin, Photographic Film, Photographic Paper
$325
H 19 in W 13 in
Bruce Springsteen photograph (the Bottom Line NYC 1975)
By Fernando Natalici
Located in NEW YORK, NY
Bruce Springsteen Photograph by Fernando Natalici A rare, striking photo of Bruce Springsteen at the age of 25 captured at The Bottom Line New York, 1975, by celebrated underground photographer, Fernando Natalici. Bruce and The East Street Band's 1975 shows at The Bottom Line were cited by Rolling Stone in 2004 as among the “50 Moments That Changed the History of Rock & Roll." Dimensions: 13 x 19 inches Medium: Archival Inkjet Print Hand signed & titled in ink from a limited edition of 25 Excellent condition Seller is a primary dealer rep of Fernando Natalici As Rolling Stone wrote... In August 1975, Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band were booked to play ten shows at the tiny New York club the Bottom Line, near Washington Square Park in Greenwich Village. Springsteen was weeks away from releasing his third album, Born to Run, and his label, Columbia, invited more than 1,000 industry insiders to see what fans of the E Street Band's live shows had long known. As guitarist Steven Van...
Inkjet
$5,800
H 12 in W 16 in
Le Café de France, Gelatin Silver Print, Signed, 12x16 Inches, 1979 by Ronis
By Willy Ronis
Located in New york, NY
Interested in “ordinary people with ordinary lives,” photographer Willy Ronis among the postwar French photographers spent his career roaming the streets of Paris, photographing people in love, at work, and at play. Le Café de France...
Photographic Film, Photographic Paper, Silver Gelatin
$3,600
H 16 in W 20 in
Yeshiva Students, New York City, Black-and-White Photograph, Signed, 16x20, 1954
By Leonard Freed
Located in New york, NY
Yeshiva Students, New York City, 1954 by Leonard Freed is a black-and-white photograph of three young Jewish Youth, studying at a yeshiva. A gelatin silver print, 16” x 20”, signed ...
Photographic Film, Photographic Paper, Silver Gelatin
$525
H 11 in W 14 in
PRINCE Photograph Detroit 1980 (Leni Sinclair Prince photograph)
By Leni Sinclair
Located in NEW YORK, NY
Prince Detroit 1980 by Leni Sinclair: A standout & timeless photograph of the late great Prince, shot by legendary Detroit photographer Leni Sinclair, 2016's Kresge Foundation's Emi...
Inkjet
Norman Parkinson 'Twiggy, British Vogue, 1967'
By Norman Parkinson
Located in New York, NY
Twiggy, British Vogue, 1967. Twiggy, British Vogue, 1967 Silver gelatin print Estate stamped and numbered edition of 21 on verso with certificate of authenticity Norman Parkinson (...
Silver Gelatin
$1,999
H 12 in W 8 in
Playboy Hugh Hefner, Vintage Black and White Photograph, 1966, 12x8 Inches
By Burt Glinn
Located in New york, NY
A black-and-white 12" x 8" vintage photograph of Editor-in-chief Hugh Hefner checking proofs for Playboy magazine, 1966 by Burt Glinn. A historical photo...
Silver Gelatin, Photographic Film, Photographic Paper
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