New City, New York
1996
Image not available — this artwork is under copyright
View on museum website →Medium
gelatin silver print
Dimensions
image: 37.8 x 37.3 cm (14 7/8 x 14 11/16 in.) sheet: 50.5 x 40.6 cm (19 7/8 x 16 in.)
Classification
Photograph
Department
CPH
Museum
National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.
Credit
Patrons' Permanent Fund
Accession Number
2001.22.246
Art Historical Context
Lee Friedlander's *New City, New York (1996) captures the pulsating energy of late-20th-century urban America through the lens of one of the medium's most innovative masters. Friedlander, a key figure in American street photography alongside contemporaries like Garry Winogrand and Diane Arbus, is renowned for his democratic eye—transforming chaotic cityscapes into intricate compositions filled with reflections, signs, shadows, and overlapping forms. This gelatin silver print, measuring nearly 15 inches square, distills New York's relentless dynamism into a single, richly toned frame. The gela...
About the Artist
Lee Friedlander
Lee Friedlander, born on July 14, 1934, in Aberdeen, Washington, to a Finnish-descended mother, Kaari Nurmi, and German-Jewish émigré father, Fritz Friedlander, discovered photography at age 14 amid a fascination with the medium's equipment. Tragedy marked his childhood when his mother died of cancer at age seven, yet he pursued his passion, earning pocket money with a camera before studying under...