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El Morocco, New York

1955
Not on view
El Morocco was one of New York's hottest nightclubs in the 1950s—a perfect site for Garry Winogrand to test his talents as a street-smart photographer working for "Harper's Bazaar," "Collier's," "Pageant," and "Sports Illustrated." Like his earlier pictures of the prizefighter Floyd Patterson in the ring, this photograph of a couple dancing explodes the idea of the snapshot. Focusing on his subjects' telling responses (here the face and hands revealing a ferocious animal spirit), Winogrand introduced a new, exceedingly confrontational style of 35mm photography. Direct, invasive, yet intuitively choreographed, this approach soon placed the artist alongside Robert Frank as one of the preeminent street photographers of the day.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: El Morocco, New York
  • Artist: Garry Winogrand (American, New York 1928–1984 Tijuana, Mexico)
  • Date: 1955
  • Medium: Gelatin silver print
  • Dimensions: 23.5 x 33.7 cm (9 1/4 x 13 1/4 in.)
  • Classification: Photographs
  • Credit Line: Purchase, The Horace W. Goldsmith Foundation Gift, 1992
  • Object Number: 1992.5107
  • Rights and Reproduction: © The Estate of Garry Winogrand, all rights reserved. Courtesy Fraenkel Gallery, San Francisco
  • Curatorial Department: Photographs

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[El Morocco Contact Sheet], Garry Winogrand American, Gelatin silver print
[El Morocco Contact Sheet]
Garry Winogrand
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Staten Island Ferry, New York City, New York
Garry Winogrand
1971, printed 1974
Coney Island, New York City, New York, Garry Winogrand American, Gelatin silver print
Coney Island, New York City, New York
Garry Winogrand
1952, printed 1974
Central Park Zoo, New York City, New York, Garry Winogrand American, Gelatin silver print
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Garry Winogrand
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Albuquerque, New Mexico, Garry Winogrand American, Gelatin silver print
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