In the News

ACME NEWSPICTURES

Nazis Treat Prisoners Like This

2/20/45, silver print, ca. 1945
3 9/16 x 7 9/16, Paper description label
very light: Acme Newspictures stamp on print verso.

LEONARD FREED

Washington, D.C.

1963, silver print, ca. 1963
10 3/8 x 15 1/8, artist's stamp, signed and dated
by the artist in pencil on verso

ANDREW LOPEZ

Nazi Youngster Plays Soldier

1944, silver print
ca. 1944
6 5/8 x 7 3/4, Acme Newspictures stamp on
print verso, paper description label.

WEEGEE

Cop and Woman

ca. 1940s, silver print, ca. 1940s
10 1/4 x 13, "Credit Photo by Weegee the Famous" stamp
"Weegee, 451West 47th Street, New York City, USA
TEL: 265-1955" stamp on print verso.

BILL BRANDT

Dylan Thomas

1941, silver print, ca. 1941
9 1/8 x 7 1/2, Titled beneath image on recto
Bill Brandt stamp and title written in ink on verso
"Dylan Thomas at the Salisbury St. Martins Lane 1941".

ROBERT CAPA

Surrender in Palermo

1943
silver print
ca. 1940s
5 1/4 x 8 3/16.

WALKER EVANS

Street Scene

from "Bridgeport's War Factories"
1941, silver print, ca. 1940s
7 11/16 x 9 5/8.

ROBERT FRANK

Portrait of Franz Kline

ca. 1950s, silver print, ca. 1950s
8 7/8 x 13 1/2, Signed by photographer in
black ink on print verso.

More Exhibition Photographs

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The basic tenant of photojournalism, and what the general public is often encouraged to believe, is that it is objective because the photographer remains a passive observer. Ironically, many of the most famous photojournalists worked with little regard to this cornerstone of their profession. Dorothea Lange and Lewis Hine, made a particular effort to affect social change with their images. Meanwhile, Weegee set about shooting the world as he saw it.

Both Walker Evans and Dorothea Lange were important photographers for the Farm Security Administration, recording the people and places affected by the American depression. Lange put a human face to the suffering of those forced to leave their homes, searching for work. The photo of "The Migratory Cotton Picker" is a visually striking portrait of a particular man struggling to make a living. Lange's images were powerful enough to encourage the state of California to improve the migratory worker's living conditions. Walker Evans employed his talent as a street photographer during the FSA and later working for Fortune magazine, documenting the war factories of Bridgeport, Connecticut. Evans, unlike Lange, was more interested in making an objective record of the world around him.

Weegee's unsettling, voyeuristic images of the gritty New York streets and crime scenes are a classic example of subjective journalism. "Crowd at the Scene of an Accident" is a typical Weegee image taken with a strong flash and unflatteringly showing people in an unenviable situation. Clearly, Weegee's pictures tell us more about himself than the event and people depicted.

Robert Capa and Eugene Smith both became passionately and personally intertwined with the places, people, and events they reported. Both men participated in their stories sometimes risking their own lives. Both sought independence in their work. Smith worked for 3 years on a project on Pittsburgh, which an editor originally hoped would take 3 weeks. Capa co-founded the photo agency Magnum in 1947 in order to establish more freedom in choosing his stories. Due to their deep involvement in their work, Capa and Smith's photos stand as testament to the human condition. Smith ably switches between powerful war images such as Saipan depicting a war hardened, determined marine and "A Walk to Paradise Garden" of his two children emerging from a darkened forest into a bright opening. Capa found moments of happiness and reflection, even in wartime, such as the jubilant crowd of "Surrender in Palermo" and the soldier taking minute to contemplate a purchase in "Naples...Stands of Books on Sale in the Street."

Leonard Freed made a personal crusade to record the historical events and people involved in the civil rights movement of the 1960s and thus help with the movement's cause. Freed's photos covered a wide range of subjects from from Martin Luther King, Jr. to African American children playing in Harlem. Like those important photojournalists before him, Freed focused on individuals, therefore making a humanist statement.

Each of these photographers used the occupation of photojournalist to tell their own story. The images in this show reflect the diversity of events being covered by journalists, and more importantly the individuals who have made up American history. "In the News: Vintage Photojournalism from 1940 to 1965" will be on view September 1 - October 29, 2004. The show can also be viewed on the web at www.leegallery.com.

Member of The Association of International Photography Art Dealers (AIPAD)