New York
Date1982
Mediumgelatin silver print on paper
DimensionsImage: 10 7/8 × 13 7/8 inches (27.6 × 35.2 cm)
Matted: 16 × 20 inches (40.6 × 50.8 cm)
Credit LineGift of Mrs. Robert O. Levitt.
Object number2002.3.2
Copyright© Film Documents LLC, courtesy Zander Galerie, Cologne/Paris.
The images and text contained on this page are owned by Telfair Museums or used by the Museum with permission from the owners. Unauthorized reproduction, transmission or display of these materials is prohibited with the exception of items deemed “fair use” as defined by U.S. and international copyright laws.Label TextHelen Levitt was born in Brooklyn and later moved to East Harlem where she remained until her passing in 2009. It was there, in 1935, that she met French photographer Henri Cartier-Bresson (1908–2004), whose influence helped her recognize the power of ordinary events and people as subjects. She acquired a Leica hand-held automatic camera, which afforded her the luxury of taking pictures instinctively as she strolled the neighborhoods of the city. She was gifted at capturing that instant when a gesture or a glance defines a poetic or humorous moment, such as this well-dressed older gentleman walking down the sidewalk, looking skeptically at the unclothed storefront tailor’s dummy.
