Helen Levitt: In the Street

Insightful exhibition at the Photographers’ Gallery of work over six decades by street photographer Helen Levitt.

I loved the early black and white pieces taken in East Harlem and the Bronx which often focused on the natural humour and uncanniness of the streets. I loved the monumental style of the picture shown and a lovely picture of a young boy with a bucket on his head. She was particularly interested in the strange things children do when they play.

In the late 1940s Levitt moved into film and they were showing her work “In the Street” from 1953 which was like an animated version of the photographs.

In the 1970s she moved into colour photography having tried in it 1959 only to have her work stolen, and of those I loved her pictures taken on the subway with a candid camera. Lovely glimpses of everyday life.

Closes 13 February  2022

Review

Telegraph


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