Object Details
Artist
Helen Levitt, born New York City 1913-died New York City 2009
Exhibition Label
Caught before they run off into the streets, three masked youngsters pause on their front stoop. Expressive postures and mysterious disguises give this trio a theatrical quality. Helen Levitt, who found poetry in the uninhibited gestures of children, used a right-angle viewfinder to capture boys and girls roaming freely and playing with found objects. Working in New York City during the years surrounding World War II, her photographs show the drama of life that unfolded on the sidewalks of poor and working-class neighborhoods.
A Democracy of Images: Photographs from the Smithsonian American Art Museum, 2013
Credit Line
Smithsonian American Art Museum, Museum purchase
Copyright
© 1981, Helen Levitt
Date
ca. 1942, printed later
Object number
1984.16.4
Restrictions & Rights
Usage conditions apply
Type
Photography-Photoprint
Medium
gelatin silver print
Dimensions
image: 7 1/8 x 10 1/2 in. (18.1 x 26.6 cm.)
See more items in
Smithsonian American Art Museum Collection
Department
Graphic Arts
Data Source
Smithsonian American Art Museum
Topic
Cityscape\New York\New York
Children
Dress\costume\mask
Recreation\dress up\children
Architecture Exterior\detail\door
Link to Original Record
Record ID
saam_1984.16.4