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HELEN LEVITT, (American, b. 1918), UNTITLED (NEW YORK), inscribed "N.Y.", dated and signed "1972 ...

Currency:USD Category:Everything Else / Other Start Price:NA Estimated At:3,000.00 - 5,000.00 USD
HELEN LEVITT, (American, b. 1918), UNTITLED (NEW YORK), inscribed  N.Y. , dated and signed  1972 ...
HELEN LEVITT
(American, b. 1918)
UNTITLED (NEW YORK)
inscribed "N.Y.", dated and signed "1972 Helen Levitt" in pencil on verso
"49" inscribed in pencil on verso
dye transfer print
image: 93/8 x 141/4 in. (23.8 x 36.2 cm)
paper: 125/8 x 17 in. (32.1 x 43.2 cm)
1972
ESTIMATE: $3,000-5,000
<p>PROVENANCE
Private Collection, New York
<p>LITERATURE
John Szarkowski, MIRRORS AND WINDOWS: AMERICAN PHOTOGRAPHY SINCE 1960, New York, The Museum of Modern Art exh. cat., 1978, p. 130
(illustrated)
Sandra S. Phillips and Maria Morris Hambourg, HELEN LEVITT, San Francisco, San Francisco Museum of Modern Art exh. cat., 1991, pl. 84 (illustrated)
Francine Prose, HELEN LEVITT: CROSSTOWN, New York, Powerhouse Books, 2001, p. 188 (illustrated)
Max Kozloff, NEW YORK: CAPITAL OF PHOTOGRAPHY, New York, The Jewish Museum, 2002, pl. 83 (illustrated)
One of the first street photographers to experiment with color, Helen Levitt maintained the subject matter of her black-and-white works from the 1940s. Levitt discovered her most arresting compositions among the dilapidated streets and buildings of working-class neighborhoods in New York City. Within this context, street graffiti and children at play were subjects that Levitt preferred. Vibrant pinks and yellows are threaded through this image and create a cohesive composition. The children display a sense of invincibility, quite unaware that their appropriated playground is considered by most as rough and unforgiving.