New York

“I saw pictures of [Henri] Cartier-Bresson, and realized that photography could be an art -- and that made me ambitious”- Helen Levitt

At the age of sixteen, Helen Levitt decided that she would become a professional photographer. Inspired by the works of Walker Evans (whose work is in this exhibition) and Henri Cartier-Bresson, she went out and bought a 35-millimeter Leica camera and began photographing the streets and people of New York City. A recurring theme in her early work, (1936-1950), is the complexity and performative qualities of children’s play found in a city street. She photographed primarily in working class neighborhoods, taking pictures of children playing and observing how their games allowed them to reinterpret their environment.