Elliott Erwitt
1928–2023 · United States
The unexpected in everyday life.
The story
Elliott Erwitt pursued press commissions, advertising and personal photography alongside one another. His work moves between portraits, historical events and ordinary scenes encountered on his travels. He observed gestures that echo one another, ambiguous situations and shifts of scale. The humour in his photographs does not reduce them to jokes: it also conveys tenderness, solitude and the conventions that organise social life.
Understanding the work
Observe the background and correspondences between people and animals. Releasing the shutter sometimes reveals a fleeting relationship that might have gone unnoticed while simply walking through the same scene.
Key works and series
Personal Exposures; dog series; portraits and street photographs.
Sources & further exploration
Works in collections.
10 recordsPhotographs to explore on museum and library websites, with titles, dates and processes. Each link opens the collection record and its image where one is available.
