WEEGEE (1899–1968) | End-of-war merrymakers with pup, New York City, August 1945
Image size: 16.6 x 19.4 cm

English

Vintage silver print on single-weight glossy paper 18 x 22.7 cm, in very good condition. "ACME" agency credit stamp, "N.E.A." date stamp, typographic agency text clip "Merrymakers (...) on New York's Lower East Side, decorated this pup in the spirit of the occasion, as news of the end of the war with Japan was announced." on the reverse.
Violence, traffic accidents, and catastrophic fires were Weegee's specialty. Close-up photographs were his trademark: nocturnal figures on the streets of New York, bleached by flashlight. The spectacular images taken with his 4x5-inch Speed Graphic camera, regularly published in all the major tabloids of the time, are undoubtedly among the most important works ever produced in the genre of street photography. They inspired artists such as Stanley Kubrick, Diane Arbus, and Andy Warhol. Long overdue, WestLicht presented the first Weegee retrospective in Vienna in 2011, featuring some 250 vintage prints by the legendary photographer.

* Fully taxed

Deutsch

Vintage-Silbergelatineabzug auf dünnem, glänzendem Papier 18 x 22,7 cm, in sehr gutem Zustand. Rückseitig "ACME" Agentur-Creditstempel, "N.E.A." Datumsstempel, typografischer Agentur Textclip "Merrymakers (...) on New York's Lower East Side, decorated this pup in the spirit of the occasion, as news of the end of the war with Japan was announced.".
Gewalt, Verkehrsunfälle und Brandkatastrophen waren Weegees Spezialgebiet. Fotografien aus nächster Nähe sein Markenzeichen: Nächtliche Gestalten auf den Straßen New Yorks, vom Blitzlicht gebleicht. Die spektakulären Aufnahmen seiner 4x5 inch-Speed-Graphic-Kamera, regelmäßig veröffentlicht in allen großen Boulevardzeitungen der Zeit, gehören zweifelsohne zum Wichtigsten, was das Genre der so genannten street photography hervorgebracht hat. Sie inspirierten Künstler wie Stanley Kubrick, Diane Arbus oder Andy Warhol. Längst überfällig, präsentierte WestLicht 2011 die erste Retrospektive Weegees in Wien, die rund 250 Vintageabzüge des legendären Fotografen umfasste.

* Vollbesteuert

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