Helen Levitt Portrait Photography
American, 1913-2009
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.
to
2
Overall Width
to
Overall Height
to
2
1
1
2
2
2
2
2
2
1
1
1
1
1
2
4
2,015
1,356
725
218
2
Artist: Helen Levitt
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...
Category
1940s Helen Levitt Portrait Photography
Materials
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...
Category
1930s Helen Levitt Portrait Photography
Materials
Silver Gelatin
Related Items
Audrey Hepburn with a Dove 1966 Signed Limited Edition Framed Print
By Terry O'Neill
Located in London, GB
A contemplative Audrey Hepburn with a dove perched on her shoulder, 1966.
TITLE: Hepburn with a Dove 1966
PHOTO: Terry O’Neill
SIGNED LIMITED EDITION (LAST AVAILBLE COPY OF THIS SIZ...
Category
1960s Helen Levitt Portrait Photography
Materials
Black and White, Silver Gelatin
$4,500
H 12 in W 16 in D 2.5 in
Hugh Hefner in His Bedroom Office, Chicago 1961, Black and White Photography
By Art Shay
Located in Chicago, IL
"Nelson Algren's Chicago: Photographs by Art Shay", page 34. Hugh Hefner liked Algren and vice versa. After Hefner purchased several of his short stori...
Category
1960s Contemporary Helen Levitt Portrait Photography
Materials
Silver Gelatin
$3,000
H 16 in W 20 in D 1.25 in
'Jane Birkin' 1968 Saint Tropez (Silver Gelatin Print)
By Jean-Pierre Bonnotte
Located in London, GB
'Jane Birkin' August 1968 Saint Tropez
by Jean-Pierre Bonnotte
A stunning shot of the British supermodel, actress, singer and sex symbol - adopted by France when she became the wif...
Category
1960s Modern Helen Levitt Portrait Photography
Materials
Silver Gelatin
Brave (Kings Road) - unique solarized gelatin silver artist print
By Mona Kuhn
Located in San Francisco, CA
In Kings Road (2022) Mona Kuhn lyrically reconsiders the realms of time and space within the midcentury architectural elements of the iconic Schindler House in Los Angeles. Built by Austrian architect Rudolph M. Schindler in 1922, the house was both a social and design experiment and an avant-garde hub for intellectuals and artists in the 1920s and ’30s.
The body of works incorporates chromogenic color prints, reflecting vignettes and materials of the building's emotional architecture, juxtaposition with unique solarized gelatin silver prints capturing traces of an ethereal human presence.
Brave (2022)
Kings Road: A Rudolph Schindler House
30" x 40" / 76cm x 102cm /edition of 12
15" x 20" / 38cm x 56cm / edition of 12
limited edition solarization photograph printed by the artist + accompanied by signed artist certificate:
artist signature label (8x10")
signed/editioned/dated/titled by the artist + stamped for authenticity
label is placed centered on verso of the mounted print
__________________
About the artist
Acclaimed for her contemporary depictions, Kuhn is considered a leading artist in the world of figurative discourse. Throughout a career spanning more than twenty years, the underlying theme of her work is her reflection on humanity’s longing for spiritual connection and solidarity. As she solidified her photographic style, Kuhn created a notable approach to the nude by developing friendships with her subjects, and employing a range of playful visual strategies that use natural light and minimalist settings to evoke a sublime sense of comfort between the human figure and its environment. Her work is natural, restful, and a reinterpretation of the nude in the canon of contemporary art.
For the past two decades, the Los-Angeles based artist's works have been shown steadily, revealing an astonishing consistency in technique, of subject and of purpose. In 2001, Kuhn’s photographs were first seen by an influential audience during the exhibition at Charles Cowles Gallery in Chelsea, New York. Kuhn’s distinct aesthetic has propelled her as one of the most collectible contemporary art photographers—her work is in private and public collections worldwide and she is represented by galleries across the United States, Europe and Asia.
Kuhn was born in São Paulo, Brazil, in 1969, of German descent. In 1989, Kuhn moved to the US and earned her BA from The Ohio State University, before furthering her studies at the San Francisco Art Institute. She is currently an independent scholar at The Getty Research Institute in Los Angeles. Occasionally, Mona teaches at UCLA and the Art Center College of Design in Pasadena.
Kuhn’s first monograph, Photographs, was debuted by Steidl in 2004; followed by Evidence (2007), Native (2010), Bordeaux Series (2011), Private (2014), and She Disappeared into Complete Silence (2018/19). In addition, Stanley/Barker Editions published Kuhn's Bushes & Succulents in 2018. In 2021, Thames & Hudson published a career retrospective titled Works. Kuhn's most recent publication Kings Road (2022) with Steidl accompanies a multi-dimensional museum traveling exhibition shown in Europe and the US.
Mona Kuhn’s work is in private and public collections worldwide, including The J. Paul Getty Museum, Los Angeles County Museum of Art, The Hammer Museum, Perez Art Museum Miami, Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, and the Kiyosato Museum in Japan. Kuhn's work has been exhibited at The Louvre Museum and Le Bal in Paris; The Whitechapel Gallery and Royal Academy of Arts in London; Musée de l’Elysée in Switzerland; Leopold Museum in Vienna Austria, The Polygon Gallery in Vancouver Canada, Taipei Fine Arts Museum in Taiwan and Australian Centre for Photography. Mona Kuhn lives and works in Los Angeles.
__________________
Solo Exhibitions
2025
Mona Kuhn: Y Tu Desnudo será Un Gran Poema, Museum of Contemporary Art, Malaga, Spain
Mona Kuhn: Kings Road, Lianzhou Museum of Photography, China
2024
Mona Kuhn: The Schindler House, A Love Affair, Galerie XII...
Category
21st Century and Contemporary Contemporary Helen Levitt Portrait Photography
Materials
Photographic Film, Photographic Paper, Silver Gelatin
$11,000
H 40 in W 30 in
Andy Warhol, Photo Booth Strip of Bobby Short, circa 1960s
By Andy Warhol
Located in Beverly Hills, CA
This is a unique photographic work taken under the direction of Andy Warhol. In the early days of his portrait making, Warhol would take subjects to Times Square to have their photo taken at a Photo Booth. The musician Bobby Short...
Category
1960s Pop Art Helen Levitt Portrait Photography
Materials
Silver Gelatin
$18,000
H 7.5 in W 2 in
Andy Warhol, Photograph of Victor Hugo and Thomas Ammann
By Andy Warhol
Located in Beverly Hills, CA
This is a unique photographic work taken by Andy Warhol.
The partner of fashion designer Halston, Victor Hugo was an artist who worked as an assistant to Andy Warhol at The Factory. Thomas Ammann...
Category
1980s Pop Art Helen Levitt Portrait Photography
Materials
Silver Gelatin
$20,000
H 10 in W 8 in
Farrah Fawcett Majors
By Andy Warhol
Located in Beverly Hills, CA
This is a unique photographic work taken by Andy Warhol behind-the-scenes at Fawcett’s portrait photo shoot. When she comes to see the finished product, Warhol notes in his diary: “…I didn’t think Farrah liked it, but then she studied them for about half an hour and finally she love it…And she looked pretty, her hair was all washed, and she looked very very nice. She’s sweet.”
Farrah Fawcett...
Category
1970s Pop Art Helen Levitt Portrait Photography
Materials
Silver Gelatin
Fred Hughes and Jerry Hall
By Andy Warhol
Located in Beverly Hills, CA
This is a unique photographic work taken by Andy Warhol.
Illustrated in The Andy Warhol Diaries by Andy Warhol. Edited by Pat Hackett, Warner Books, 1991.
Fred Hughes...
Category
1980s Pop Art Helen Levitt Portrait Photography
Materials
Silver Gelatin
Francesco Clemente at Cafe Roma
By Andy Warhol
Located in Beverly Hills, CA
This is a unique photographic work by Andy Warhol.
Illustrated in The Andy Warhol Diaries by Andy Warhol. Edited by Pat Hackett, Warner Books, 1991.
Image dimensions: 8 x 10 in.
F...
Category
1980s Pop Art Helen Levitt Portrait Photography
Materials
Silver Gelatin
Andy Warhol, Photograph of Henry Geldzahler circa 1979
By Andy Warhol
Located in Beverly Hills, CA
This is a unique photographic work taken by Andy Warhol.
Photo is illustrated in The Andy Warhol Diaries by Andy Warhol. Edited by Pat Hackett, Warner Books, 1991.
Henry Geldzahler...
Category
1970s Pop Art Helen Levitt Portrait Photography
Materials
Silver Gelatin
Photograph of William S. Burroughs at the Chelsea Hotel
By Andy Warhol
Located in Beverly Hills, CA
This is a unique photographic work taken by Andy Warhol. William S. Burroughs was an influential American writer and poet and a central figure of the Beat Generation of the 1950s. He is perhaps best known for his 1959 novel Naked Lunch...
Category
1970s Pop Art Helen Levitt Portrait Photography
Materials
Silver Gelatin
Paloma Picasso and Raphael Lopez Sanchez with a Dog
By Andy Warhol
Located in Beverly Hills, CA
This is a unique photographic work taken by Andy Warhol of Paloma Picasso and her husband Raphael Lopez Sanchez (aka Rafael Lopez-Cambil) holding a dog. Paloma Picasso is a jewelry, ...
Category
1980s Pop Art Helen Levitt Portrait Photography
Materials
Silver Gelatin
Previously Available Items
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 ...
Category
1940s Helen Levitt Portrait Photography
Materials
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...
Category
1940s Helen Levitt Portrait Photography
Materials
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 ...
Category
1940s Helen Levitt Portrait Photography
Materials
Silver Gelatin
Helen Levitt portrait photography for sale on 1stDibs.
Find a wide variety of authentic Helen Levitt portrait photography available for sale on 1stDibs. You can also browse by medium to find art by Helen Levitt in silver gelatin print and more. Not every interior allows for large Helen Levitt portrait photography, so small editions measuring 7 inches across are available. Customers who are interested in this artist might also find the work of Morris Engel, Edward Steichen, and Jeffrey Silverthorne. Helen Levitt portrait photography prices can differ depending upon medium, time period and other attributes. On 1stDibs, the price for these items starts at $5,000 and tops out at $12,500, while the average work can sell for $8,500.