Helen Levitt - Photographs New York Wednesday, April 6, 2022 | Phillips
  • Provenance

    Acquired directly from the photographer by Ariel Meyerowitz, 1997

  • Literature

    Phillips and Hambourg, Helen Levitt, pl. 16
    powerHouse Books, Helen Levitt: Crosstown, p. 54
    Agee, A Way of Seeing, pl. 39

  • Catalogue Essay

    This photograph was acquired directly from Helen Levitt by Ariel Meyerowitz, gallerist, art consultant, and daughter of photographer Joel Meyerowitz. Ms. Meyerowitz recalls:

    "I purchased this photograph directly from Helen in her Greenwich Village apt in April 1997. I was 26. I had known her for years and began visiting her once or twice a year to say hello and talk. We talked about photography and would look through her prints together. She was interested in my life, being the daughter of a photographer she knew and respected, and the impact that had on me growing up and as a young adult now working in the gallery world. She wasn't especially verbose but we always had a nice time together. She appreciated my love for her work. I would also play a little with her cat, named Cat. She told me she couldn't be bothered to come up with a name and Cat seemed straightforward enough. At some point I got up the courage to ask if I could buy some photographs. She knew I didn't earn a lot and seemed to be moved that I wanted to spend my savings on her photographs. I asked her how she would feel if I ever owned a gallery and wanted to show these prints. She said 'Once I'm dead you can do whatever you want with my work. Show 'em!' I never did show them at the gallery I opened two years later. I chose to live with them in my home instead."

167

N.Y.C. (Harlem Angel)

1942
Gelatin silver print, printed later.
9 1/4 x 6 in. (23.5 x 15.2 cm)
Signed, titled 'N.Y.' and dated 'circa 1940' in pencil on the verso.

Estimate
$3,000 - 5,000 

Sold for $3,780

Contact Specialist

Sarah Krueger
Head of Department, Photographs
skrueger@phillips.com


Vanessa Hallett
Worldwide Head of Photographs and Chairwoman, Americas
vhallett@phillips.com

Photographs

New York Auction 6 April 2022