New York City
1968
Image not available — this artwork is under copyright
View on museum website →Medium
gelatin silver print
Dimensions
image: 31.4 x 46.7 cm (12 3/8 x 18 3/8 in.) sheet: 40.6 x 50.5 cm (16 x 19 7/8 in.)
Classification
Photograph
Department
CPH
Museum
National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.
Credit
Patrons' Permanent Fund
Accession Number
2001.22.154
Art Historical Context
Lee Friedlander's *New York City* (1968) captures the pulsating energy of urban America during a transformative era. This gelatin silver print, a classic black-and-white photographic medium prized for its rich tonal gradations and fine detail, measures 31.4 x 46.7 cm in its image area. Friedlander, a pioneering figure in American street photography, was part of the post-World War II generation that redefined the genre, often associated with the "New York School" of photographers like Diane Arbus and Garry Winogrand. Taken in 1968 amid the social upheavals of the Vietnam War era and New York's...
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...