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New York, N. Why? Photographs by Rudolf Burckhardt. Poems by Edwin Denby

Rudy Burckhardt American, born Switzerland
Author Edwin Denby American
ca. 1939
Not on view
This remarkable album is a collaboration between Burckhardt, one of the great New York photographers of the 1930s and 1940s, and his companion and lifelong friend, the poet and dance critic Edwin Denby. The two met in Burckhardt's hometown of Basel, Switzerland in 1934 and moved the following year to New York, where they shared a loft on West 21st Street next door to the painter Willem de Kooning. Included throughout the album are sonnets written by Denby to accompany Burckhardt's photographs of advertising and street furniture, newsstands and barbershops, and the balletic movements of pedestrians on the sidewalks of the city.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: New York, N. Why? Photographs by Rudolf Burckhardt. Poems by Edwin Denby
  • Artist: Rudy Burckhardt (American (born Switzerland), Basel 1914–1999 Searsmont, Maine)
  • Author: Edwin Denby (American, 1903–1983)
  • Date: ca. 1939
  • Medium: Gelatin silver prints
  • Dimensions: 28.7 x 32.5 x 2.4 cm (11 5/16 x 12 13/16 x 15/16 in.)
  • Classification: Albums
  • Credit Line: Purchase, Florance Waterbury Bequest, 1972
  • Object Number: 1972.585.1–.29
  • Rights and Reproduction: © 2025 Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York
  • Curatorial Department: Photographs

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[Building Front, Cellar Hatch, and Siamese Standpipe on Sidewalk, New York City], Rudy Burckhardt American, born Switzerland, Gelatin silver print
[Building Front, Cellar Hatch, and Siamese Standpipe on Sidewalk, New York City]
Rudy Burckhardt
ca. 1939
[Building Front Detail with Wreathed Window Casement and Glass Sidewalk, New York City], Rudy Burckhardt American, born Switzerland, Gelatin silver print
[Building Front Detail with Wreathed Window Casement and Glass Sidewalk, New York City]
Rudy Burckhardt
ca. 1939
[Building Front Detail with Siamese Standpipe, New York City], Rudy Burckhardt American, born Switzerland, Gelatin silver print
[Building Front Detail with Siamese Standpipe, New York City]
Rudy Burckhardt
ca. 1939
[Building Façade in Fur District, West 27th Street, New York City], Rudy Burckhardt American, born Switzerland, Gelatin silver print
[Building Façade in Fur District, West 27th Street, New York City]
Rudy Burckhardt
ca. 1939
[Pair of Siamese Standpipes, New York City], Rudy Burckhardt American, born Switzerland, Gelatin silver print
[Pair of Siamese Standpipes, New York City]
Rudy Burckhardt
ca. 1939

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