New York, 1974An exhibition I saw yesterday included a photograph by Elliott Erwitt, and I was reminded of how much I enjoy his work. Here is a smattering of some of my favorite Erwitt images, as well as a brief bio from the Andrew Smith Gallery website.
Born in Paris in 1928 to Jewish-Russian immigrant parents, Erwitt grew up in Paris, Milan and New York. At eleven he moved with his family to Los Angeles where he became interested in photography. After working in a commercial darkroom and studying at Los Angeles City College, he moved to New York to study film.
In 1951 he was drafted into the army and stationed in Germany and France where he continued to photograph. In 1953 Robert Capa invited Erwitt to join the prestigious photo agency Magnum where he quickly rose to the top of the highly competitive field of magazine photography.
Currently, Erwitt spends much of his time overseas working on assignments for foreign publications. Besides his photography he has filmed numerous documentaries. Erwitt's superb sense of humor coupled with a deceptively casual photographic technique inspired the eminent photography critic, John Szarkowski, to remark that Erwitt is "one of the few photographers whose work is also identified by extraordinary wit." Traveling around the world on magazine assignments, Erwitt always found time to take the wry and timeless photographs of ordinary people and dogs that have made him famous.
According to writer, Sean Callahan, survival seems to be built into Erwitt's nature, along with the ability "to be an astute observer of others, highly sensitive to the vicissitudes of life and, when necessary, utterly charming and disarming." In his long and successful career as a magazine and advertising photographer Erwitt has used an arsenal of cameras. But the images he shot for himself were usually made with a classic Leica rangefinder and in black and white. He has remarked, "The most important advice to photographers is f:8 and be there." In his most poetic images something wordless and magical happens in a fleeting instant.
Paris, 1989
North Carolina, 1950
New York, 1953
Colorado, 1955
Wilmington, NC, 1950
Santa Monica, California, 1955
Provence, France, 1955
Paris, 1989
New York, 1946
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