Walker EvansAmerican, 1903–1975Untitled (Subway Portrait, New York)
Can I see it?
Not on view at present
Where is “Untitled (Subway Portrait, New York)” now? Collection: Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago. Not on view at present. Checked September 29, 2026.
Chicago, United States
It belongs to the collection, but is not on display at present.
- Checked
- In this state since
- Source
- The museum
About the work
As it was illegal at the time to take pictures on the New York City subway, Walker Evans had to act stealthily while making this portrait. He hid a small 35mm Contax camera in his coat, the lens peeking out between the buttons, and snapped pictures of unsuspecting commuters. “My idea of what a portrait ought to be,” Evans wrote, was “anonymous and documentary and a straightforward picture of mankind.” Devoid of journalistic purpose or romantic sentimentality, Evans‘s subway portraits present a candid view of humanity within the modern urban environment.
Art Institute of ChicagoCC BY 4.0
Details
- Accession number
- 1970.910
In the catalog
Sources
- Art Institute of Chicago
- Image: Art Institute of Chicago — © the artist or rights holder
In the life of Walker Evans
The whole lifesummer 1936
Hale County with James Agee, on assignment for Fortune
In the summer of 1936, while on leave from the FSA, Evans and the writer James Agee are sent by Fortune to Hale County, Alabama, for a story the magazine subsequently opts not to run.
1938
“Walker Evans: American Photographs” at MoMA
The Museum of Modern Art in New York holds “Walker Evans: American Photographs”, the museum's first exhibition devoted to the work of a single photographer; the catalogue includes an essay by Lincoln Kirstein, whom Evans befriended in his early days in New York.
until 1938
The end of his FSA work
Evans continues to work for the Farm Security Administration until 1938.
1938–1939
Working with and mentoring Helen Levitt
In 1938 and 1939 Evans works with and mentors Helen Levitt.
1940 · Award
Guggenheim Fellowship
1940–1959
Three Guggenheim Fellowships in twenty years
Between 1940 and 1959 Evans is awarded three Guggenheim Fellowships in Photography to continue his work of making record photographs of contemporary American subjects.
