Object number2011.13.1
New York (Gumball Machine)
Date1971, printed 1991
Artist
Helen Levitt
(American, 1913-2009)
CultureAmerican
MediumType-C color print
DimensionsSheet: 16 x 12 1/8 in. (40.6 x 30.8 cm)
Image: 14 x 9 7/16 in. (35.6 x 24 cm)
Matted: 22 x 16 in. (55.9 x 40.6 cm)
Image: 14 x 9 7/16 in. (35.6 x 24 cm)
Matted: 22 x 16 in. (55.9 x 40.6 cm)
Credit LinePurchase, Advisory Council for Photography
On View
Not on viewPeriod20th c
Classification(s)
SignedSigned and dated (on verso)
InscribedInscribed (verso): (title)
Top left corner verso (something written in pencil and crossed out)
Vassar Exhibitions
Exhibition HistoryPougheepsie, New York, The Frances Lehman Loeb Art Center, Vassar College, "Recent Acquistions: Works on Paper," January 18 - March 30, 2013.Label TextThe streets of New York were in every sense of the word a playground for Helen Levitt. Levitt began photographing at the age of 18 as an apprentice in the Bronx. As an artist photographer, her practice was less focused on a voyeuristic exposure of economic poverty, socioeconomic status, and housing disparities than journalistic photographs of the street. Although her work is not devoid of these realities, the scenes Levitt was particularly fascinated with were of the gestures of joy, play in all its forms, and the general childhood innocence she saw before her. They were so fascinating to her that she revisited these spaces years apart, photographing them first in black-and-white film, and returning later to photograph them in color. Her work has been described by author Geoff Dyer as having a Narnia quality, acting as a portal into experiencing the simple pleasures of making anywhere and anything an active, colorful playground.
Object information is a work in progress and may be updated as new research findings emerge.
To help improve this record, please email
loebcollections@vassar.edu
