Elliott Erwitt (born Elio Romano Erwitz, July 26, 1928 – November 29, 2023) was a French-born American advertising and documentary photographer known for his black and white candid photos of ironic and absurd situations within everyday settings. He was a member of Magnum Photos from 1953.
Early life
Elliott Erwitt was born in Paris, France on July 26, 1928, to Jewish-Russian immigrant parents, Eugenia and Boris Erwitz, who soon moved to Italy.[1][2] In 1939, when he was ten, his family migrated to the United States. He studied photography and filmmaking at Los Angeles City College[3] and the New School for Social Research.[4] In 1951 he was drafted into the Army, and discharged in 1953.[3]
Again and again he has also documented socio-political events in his photographs, such as Richard Nixon's visit to the Soviet Union in 1959,[9] the funeral service for John F. Kennedy in 1963[10] or the inauguration of Barack Obama in 2009.[11]
One of the subjects Erwitt has frequently photographed in his career is dogs: they have been the subject of five of his books, Son of Bitch (1974), To the Dogs (1992), Dog Dogs (1998), Woof (2005), and Elliott Erwitt's Dogs (2008).[12]
Erwitt created an alter ego, the beret-wearing and pretentious "André S. Solidor" (which abbreviates to "ass"), " a contemporary artist, from one of the French colonies in the Caribbean, I forget which one" to "satirise the kooky excesses of contemporary photography." His work was published in a book, The Art of André S. Solidor (2009), and exhibited in 2011 at the Paul Smith Gallery in London.[12][13]
From the 1970s, he devoted much of his energy toward movies. His feature films, television commercials, and documentary films included Arthur Penn: the Director (1970), Beauty Knows No Pain (1971), Red, White and Bluegrass (1973) and the prize-winning Glassmakers of Herat, Afghanistan (1977).[17] He was, as well, credited as camera operator for Gimme Shelter (1970), still photographer for Bob Dylan: No Direction Home (2005), and provided additional photography for Get Yer Ya Ya's Out (2009).[18]
A collection of Erwitt's films were screened in 2011 as part of the DocNYC Festival's special event "An Evening with Elliott Erwitt".[19][20]
Philanthropy
In October 2020, Erwitt partnered with the digital collectible cards company Phil Ropy and created a card to raise awareness for Project HOPE's COVID-19 response. The picture on the card shows a pair of medical rubber gloves as a reminder of how exposed health care workers are and as an allusion to Project HOPE's logo.[21] The proceeds from the sales of the card are redistributed to the organization.[22][23]
Personal life
Erwitt was married to the German filmmaker and writer Pia Frankenberg for several years.
Death
Erwitt died at his home in New York on November 29, 2023 while sleeping. He was 95.[24]
Publications
1972 – Photographs and Anti-Photographs ISBN 978-0500540091
1972 – Observations on American Architecture ASIN B00A6V15X4
1974 – Elliott Erwitt: The Private Experience (In the series "Masters of Contemporary Photography", text by Sean Callahan.) Los Angeles: Petersen. Sean Callahan describes and to some extent explains Erwitt's work. ISBN 0-8227-0070-0
1974 – Son of Bitch, photographs of dogs ISBN 978-0670657223
USA, New York City, 1953 – Image of Erwitt's wife looking at their baby on a bed lit by window light.
USA, NYC, Felix, Gladys, and Rover, 1974 – Image of a woman's booted feet between that of a Great Dane's legs and a little chihuahua.
USSR, Russia, Moscow, Nikita Khrushchev and Richard Nixon, 1959 – Powerful Cold War image in which Nixon is poking his index finger at Khrushchev's suit lapel.
USA, California, 1955 – Image of a side-view mirror of an automobile parked facing a beach sunset, with a playful couple shown in the mirror as the focal point.
Collections
Erwitt's work is held in the following permanent collections:
^"Jacqueline Kennedy at John F. Kennedy's Funeral. Arlington, Virginia. November 25, 1963". Magnum Photos Store.
^"How photography changed with the Presidential race | photography | Agenda | Phaidon".
^ a bCripps, Charlotte (February 10, 2011). "A drastic change of image: Magnum photographer Elliott Erwitt has crafted a glorious alter ego". The Independent. Retrieved April 24, 2011.
^"Who is André S. Solidor?". The Week. February 10, 2011. Retrieved February 24, 2011.
^"Royal Photographic Society's Centenary Award". Archived from the original on December 1, 2012. Retrieved August 13, 2012.
^Nadja Sayej (November 9, 2020). "Elliott Erwitt: 'Photography is pretty simple. You just react to what you see'". The Guardian.
^Rosemary Feitelberg (October 19, 2020). "'Works of Imagination' Sale Features Work of Prized Photographers". WWD.
^Woodward, Richard (November 30, 2023). "Elliott Erwitt, Whose Photos Are Famous, and Often Funny, Dies at 95". The New York Times. Retrieved November 30, 2023.
^"Elliott Erwitt at the Museo di Roma". www.ft.com. Retrieved December 1, 2023.
^Johnson, Ken (June 9, 2011). "Captured: A New York Minute, or One in Havana". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved December 1, 2023.
^"New Orleans : Elliott Erwitt, Black & White and Kolor". L'oeil de la Photographie. June 17, 2016.
^"Exhibition Presents Unprecedented Study of Renowned Photographer Elliott Erwitt's Life and Work". University of Texas Austin News. Archived from the original on June 21, 2016. Retrieved June 21, 2016.
^"Elliott Erwitt: Pittsburgh 1950". International Center of Photography. March 7, 2018. Retrieved January 22, 2019.
^"Official website of the Musée Maillol".
^"The exhibition of the great photographer Elliott Erwitt now at the Grand Place in Brussels!".
^"Sonderausstellung in der Städtischen Galerie".
^Mistry, Phil (June 5, 2022). "Elliott Erwitt: A Conversation with the Master Photographer at 93". PetaPixel. Retrieved February 29, 2024.
^"Elliott Erwitt Photography Collection". Harry Ranson Center – University of Texas at Austin. Retrieved February 21, 2020.
^"The life and works of Elliott Erwitt – in pictures". The Guardian. August 14, 2016. Retrieved February 21, 2020.
^"Elliott Erwitt". International Center of Photography. July 15, 2018. Retrieved February 21, 2020.
^"Elliott Erwitt". Jackson Fine Art. Retrieved February 21, 2020.
^"Elliott Erwitt Collection". Met Museum. Retrieved February 21, 2020.
^"Elliott Erwitt". International Photography Hall of Fame. Retrieved February 21, 2020.
Peter Conrad, "Elliott Erwitt's law of intended consequences", The Observer, 20 February 2011
Elliott Erwitt in Encyclopædia Britannica
Photographer Elliott Erwitt's Archive to be Housed at Harry Ransom Center at The University of Texas at Austin (archived), September 22, 2011 (Archive is not available online)