A Female Gaze | Seven Decades of Women Street Photographers
by Sam Franzini
Rebecca Lepkoff, Early Morning Rush, Midtown Manhattan, 1940s. Gelatin silver print; printed c.1950, 8 1/2 x 7 inches. © Estate of Rebecca Lepkoff, Courtesy of Howard Greenberg Gallery, New York.
Howard Greenberg Gallery will be celebrating seven decades of 20th century street photography by women, including Berenice Abbott, Diane Arbus, Jodi Bieber, Esther Bubley, Rebecca Lepkoff, Helen Levitt, Vivian Maier, Mary Ellen Mark, Frances McLaughlin-Gill, Lisette Model, Barbara Morgan, and Ruth Orkin.
Street photography’s democratic and fair nature made it an art process women could flourish in. The Photo League, a New York-based cooperative active in the 30s to 50s, included many women, with them even being encouraged to hold leadership positions among men. On the domesticity and allure of street photography, Mary Ellen Mark said, “photograph the world as it is, because nothing is more interesting than reality.”
A Female Gaze is on view from January 19 to April 2, 2022 at Howard Greenberg Gallery.
Mary Ellen Mark, White Junior and Justin, 1983. Gelatin silver print; printed later. Image size: 8 3/4 x 13 inches Paper size: 11 x 14 inches. © Mary Ellen Mark, Courtesy Howard Greenberg Gallery, New York.
Esther Bubley, Coast to Coast, SONJ, 1947. Gelatin silver print, 6 1/2 x 10 inches. © Estate of Esther Bubley.
Jodi Bieber, Father and son trapeze act, Market Theatre Precinct, Newtown, c.2012. Archival pigment print. Image size: 12 7/8 x 19 3/8 inches Paper size: 14 3/8 x 20 7/8 inches. © Jodi Bieber.
Vivian Maier, Untitled 1/15, 1959. Gelatin silver print; printed 2021. Image size: 12 x 12 inches Paper size: 20 x 16 inches. © Estate of Vivian Maier, Courtesy Maloof Collection and Howard Greenberg Gallery, New York.
Lisette Model, Woman with Veil, San Francisco, 1947. Gelatin silver print. 19 5/8 x 15 7/8 inches. © The Lisette Model Foundation.
Barbara Morgan, City Street (Photomontage), 1937. Gelatin silver print; printed c.1980. Image size: 16 5/8 x 12 1/2 inches Paper size: 20 x 16 inches.