Artist Spotlight: Helen Levitt

Despite the fact that photography is a relatively accessible form of art in the present day, I often find it troubling that there are so few female photographers discussed in the realm of photography that I study, and that we are looking at in this blog. In the last century, while I am sure there has been a multitude of women who tried their hand at photography, Helen Levitt (1913-2009) rose to great prominence.

Described by The New York Times as "a major photographer of the 20th century who caught fleeting moments of surpassing lyricism, mystery and quiet drama on the streets of her native New York," Levitt's body of work truly encapsulates what it meant to walk the streets of New York City during her lifetime. I have selected a few of my favorite photographs that she took, with a 1988 color shot featured at the end.

All of her photographs depict a certain sense of humanity that I would argue can only be captured through the camera lens. Moments of time that will never be replicated, Levitt captured times equally dramatic as they are mundane, setting a great precedent for street photography for all photographers to come.