American photographer, Helen Levitt is known for her street photography, particularly her images of working-class life in New York City. Her work often focused on children at play and the rhythms of urban life, capturing moments of spontaneous joy and beauty in the midst of a bustling city.
Helen Levitt Prints
Artist Biography
Born in Brooklyn, New York, Helen Levitt (1913 – 2009) began taking photographs as a teenager. She worked as a photographer for the Works Progress Administration during the 1930s. In the following decade, Levitt turned her attention to street photography, capturing candid images of children playing, families spending time together, and scenes of everyday life in New York City’s neighbourhoods.
In the 1950s, she also began working in film, collaborating with James Agee and Janice Loeb the produced the documentary In the Street, which explored the lives of children in East Harlem.
Levitt’s photographs were first exhibited at the Museum of Modern Art in 1943, and she continued to exhibit her work throughout her career. Levitt received numerous awards and honours for her photography over the course of her career, including a Guggenheim Fellowship in 1959 and a National Endowment for the Arts Fellowship in 1987.
© Estate of Helen Levitt, Courtesy Howard Greenberg Gallery, New York
