[Children with Soap Bubbles, New York City]
Helen Levitt's photographs of everyday life in her own New York neighborhood have epitomized domestic urban life for over sixty years. This image of children - one of her most common subjects - demonstrates Levitt's astute portrayal of gesture, praised as "lyrical" by James Agee in the introduction to her book, A Way of Seeing. As the viewer's attention echoes the children's glance toward the left of the scene, the picture poses a riddle as to the bubbles' source, transforming this gritty city street into a magical metropolitan playground.
Artwork Details
- Title: [Children with Soap Bubbles, New York City]
- Artist: Helen Levitt (American, 1913–2009)
- Date: ca. 1945, printed 1970s
- Medium: Gelatin silver print
- Dimensions: 18.2 x 28.3 cm (7 3/16 x 11 1/8 in.)
- Classification: Photographs
- Credit Line: Gift of Marvin Hoshino, 1986
- Object Number: 1986.1220.4
- Rights and Reproduction: © Estate of Helen Levitt
- Curatorial Department: Photographs
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