Helen Levitt began photographing New York City street scenes in the late 1930s. Her photographs capture the dynamism of the urban environment, with a specific eye to the unconsciously choreographed play-life of children. Levitt’s pictures address the interaction in the urban theatre, and in particular document the resourceful nature of children as they create entire worlds from simple materials and their imaginations. In the 1970’s Levitt began photographing in color and proved herself as a gifted color photographer. A Way of Seeing, Helen Levitt, Slide Show, and In the Street number among her monographs. Her work is held in the collections of the Art Institute of Chicago, Corcoran Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C., the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and the Whitney Museum, among many others.
Helen Levitt
New York, ca. 1942
gelatin silver print, 11 x 14 inches (sheet) [27.9 x 35.6 cm]

New York, ca. 1942
gelatin silver print, 11 x 14 inches (sheet) [27.9 x 35.6 cm]

Helen LevittNew York
ca. 1942
gelatin silver print, 11 x 14 inches (sheet) [27.9 x 35.6 cm]
Portfolios
Helen Levitt: Street Photographs
Photographed in her native New York, Levitt’s images capture strangers in the street in fleeting moments of whimsy, along with the often humorous messages of chalk drawings and graffiti.

Helen Levitt, Bronx, New York, ca. 1942
gelatin silver print, 9-5/8 x 10-1/4 inches (mount) [24.5 x 26.0 cm]

Helen Levitt, New York, ca. 1940
gelatin silver print, 6-1/4 x 8 inches (image & sheet) [15.9 x 20.3 cm]

Helen Levitt, New York, ca. 1945
gelatin silver print, 11 x 14 inches (sheet) [27.9 x 35.6 cm]

Helen Levitt, New York, ca. 1940
gelatin silver print, 11 x 14 inches (sheet) [27.9 x 35.6 cm]

Helen Levitt, New York, ca. 1942
gelatin silver print, 11 x 14 inches (sheet) [27.9 x 35.6 cm]

Helen Levitt, New York, ca. 1939
gelatin silver print, 11 x 14 inches (sheet) [27.9 x 35.6 cm]

Helen Levitt, New York, 1938-48
gelatin silver print, 6-3/4 x 8-5/8 inches (mount) [17.2 x 21.9 cm]

Helen Levitt, New York, ca. 1938
gelatin silver print, 10 x 7-1/2 inches (mount) [25.4 x 19.1 cm]

Helen Levitt, New York, ca. 1942
gelatin silver print, 14 x 11 inches (sheet) [35.6 x 27.9 cm]

Helen LevittBronx, New York
ca. 1942
gelatin silver print, 9-5/8 x 10-1/4 inches (mount) [24.5 x 26.0 cm]

Helen LevittNew York
ca. 1940
gelatin silver print, 6-1/4 x 8 inches (image & sheet) [15.9 x 20.3 cm]

Helen LevittNew York
ca. 1945
gelatin silver print, 11 x 14 inches (sheet) [27.9 x 35.6 cm]

Helen LevittNew York
ca. 1940
gelatin silver print, 11 x 14 inches (sheet) [27.9 x 35.6 cm]

Helen LevittNew York
ca. 1942
gelatin silver print, 11 x 14 inches (sheet) [27.9 x 35.6 cm]

Helen LevittNew York
ca. 1939
gelatin silver print, 11 x 14 inches (sheet) [27.9 x 35.6 cm]

Helen LevittNew York
1938-48
gelatin silver print, 6-3/4 x 8-5/8 inches (mount) [17.2 x 21.9 cm]

Helen LevittNew York
ca. 1938
gelatin silver print, 10 x 7-1/2 inches (mount) [25.4 x 19.1 cm]

Helen LevittNew York
ca. 1942
gelatin silver print, 14 x 11 inches (sheet) [35.6 x 27.9 cm]
Exhibitions
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Helen Levitt: Vintage Chalk Drawings 1938 – 1948
Mar 23–May 7, 1994
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Little Known Photographs by Helen Levitt
Jan 31–Mar 10, 1990

Helen Levitt: Eighteen Color Photographs
Feb 12–Mar 22, 1986
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Helen Levitt
Oct 20–Nov 27, 1982
Selected Museum Exhibitions
Turning the Page
Pier 24 Photography | San Francisco, CA | 2024
Outside Looking In: John Gutmann, Helen Levitt, and Wright Morris
Cantor Arts Center | Palo Alto, CA | Jan 22–Apr 26, 2020
Helen Levitt: Observing New York's Streets
Arles Les Rencontres de la Phootographie | Arles, France | Jul 1–Sep 22, 2019
Helen Levitt: In the Street
High Museum of Art | Atlanta, GA | Jan 10–Jul 12, 2015
Photographs of Children
MoMA | New York, NY | Mar 10–Apr 18, 1943
Selected Press
Surveying the Impressive Photographic Oeuvre of Helen Levitt
Widewalls, Sep 30, 2018
Helen Levitt, Janice Loeb and James Agee : In the Street
The Eye of Photography, Jul 16, 2020