A subtle master of New York street photography – Helen Levitt’s work is a must-see

Can you be Levitt? Probably not but this book may help. Few photographers have shaped the language of street photography with such authority, intuitiveness and grace. Helen Levitt had the ability to turn the mundane into the remarkable. This new book is one of the most comprehensive surveys of her work to date and a reminder why she remains one of the geniuses of photography. Studying these pages, after thinking I would never be Levitt, instead I went out with my camera to try.

For over half a century, Levitt wandered the streets of her native New York with a small Leica and dollop of human curiosity. Although influenced by Cartier-Bresson, her vision was distinctly her own. The images are warm without being sentimental, and comic without being cruel. Small dramas unfold on stoops, sidewalks and fire escapes, all fodder for Levitt’s lens. James Agee once called her photographs the ‘pure spontaneity of true folk art.’ This book proves him right, frame after frame.

This volume has depth, drawing from Levitt’s complete archive, bringing together beloved classics with early experiments. There are the rarely seen pictures from her first year with the Leica. All 50 images from the original edit of her 1965 photobook A Way of Seeing are reproduced from her own preserved record prints. It’s a gift for anyone who knows how tight Levitt’s editing always was.

The essays are welcome, offering illuminating insight without getting in the way. They trace her lesser-known phases: the Mexican trip of 1941; the pioneering colour work of the 1950s; the late pieces from the 1980s where her eye remained as sharp as ever. To me, her colour photographs in particular feel revelatory. They’re not simply an extension of her black & white practice but a reinvention, bold, witty and cinematic.

Levitt once said she photographed ‘characters I happen to meet’. The genius is that she saw character everywhere. This elegant, authoritative book gathers a lifetime of those encounters and makes you grateful that she carried a camera at all.

The book, Helen Levitt, edited by Joshua Chang is published by Thames & Hudson and is available to buy now. ISBN: 9780500030974

Related reading

• Complete guide to street photography
• Analogue street photography tips
• Amazing street photography global winners

Follow AP on Facebook, Instagram, YouTube and TikTok.