Marble
University of Notre Dame
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Boy Leaning on a Hydrant

Date

1940

Creator

Helen Levitt

Location

Raclin Murphy Museum of Art

As a teenager, Helen Leavitt left school to work in a portrait photography studio in the Bronx. She was inspired by Henri Cartier-Bresson to buy a Leica miniature camera, which she took onto the streets to make candid photographs. During the Depression Leavitt was a children’s art teacher and she became fascinated by their special world. She began to photograph kids playing on the streets of New York. This contact print of an African American boy waiting on a corner, is typical of Levitt’s enigmatic photographs. Perhaps 11 or 12 years old, he is dressed in a T-shirt and dungarees that are typical of a boy his age. His overly long belt suggests that he may wear hand-me-down clothes, however he is clean, and his hair recently cut. He may be waiting for a friend as he leans on a fire hydrant at a sunny street corner. Deserted streets emphasize how this boy is alone in his thoughts. from Touchstones of the Twentieth Century: A History of Photography at the University of Notre Dame (exhibition, 2020-21)

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As a teenager, Helen Leavitt left school to work in a portrait photography studio in the Bronx. She was inspired by Henri Cartier-Bresson to buy a Leica miniature camera, which she took onto the streets to make candid photographs. During the Depression Leavitt was a children’s art teacher and she became fascinated by their special world. She began to photograph kids playing on the streets of New York. This contact print of an African American boy waiting on a corner, is typical of Levitt’s enigmatic photographs. Perhaps 11 or 12 years old, he is dressed in a T-shirt and dungarees that are typical of a boy his age. His overly long belt suggests that he may wear hand-me-down clothes, however he is clean, and his hair recently cut. He may be waiting for a friend as he leans on a fire hydrant at a sunny street corner. Deserted streets emphasize how this boy is alone in his thoughts. from Touchstones of the Twentieth Century: A History of Photography at the University of Notre Dame (exhibition, 2020-21)
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  • As a teenager, Helen Leavitt left school to work in a portrait photography studio in the Bronx. She was inspired by Henri Cartier-Bresson to buy a Leica miniature camera, which she took onto the streets to make candid photographs. During the Depression Leavitt was a children’s art teacher and she became fascinated by their special world. She began to photograph kids playing on the streets of New York. This contact print of an African American boy waiting on a corner, is typical of Levitt’s enigmatic photographs. Perhaps 11 or 12 years old, he is dressed in a T-shirt and dungarees that are typical of a boy his age. His overly long belt suggests that he may wear hand-me-down clothes, however he is clean, and his hair recently cut. He may be waiting for a friend as he leans on a fire hydrant at a sunny street corner. Deserted streets emphasize how this boy is alone in his thoughts. from Touchstones of the Twentieth Century: A History of Photography at the University of Notre Dame (exhibition, 2020-21)
  • As a teenager, Helen Leavitt left school to work in a portrait photography studio in the Bronx. She was inspired by Henri Cartier-Bresson to buy a Leica miniature camera, which she took onto the streets to make candid photographs. During the Depression Leavitt was a children’s art teacher and she became fascinated by their special world. She began to photograph kids playing on the streets of New York. This contact print of an African American boy waiting on a corner, is typical of Levitt’s enigmatic photographs. Perhaps 11 or 12 years old, he is dressed in a T-shirt and dungarees that are typical of a boy his age. His overly long belt suggests that he may wear hand-me-down clothes, however he is clean, and his hair recently cut. He may be waiting for a friend as he leans on a fire hydrant at a sunny street corner. Deserted streets emphasize how this boy is alone in his thoughts. from Touchstones of the Twentieth Century: A History of Photography at the University of Notre Dame (exhibition, 2020-21)
Helen Levitt (American, 1913 - 2009)
1940
Photographs
Gelatin silver print
2000.022
African American
boys
contact prints
drains
fire hydrants
New Yorker
streets
© Estate of Helen Levitt / Laurence Miller Gallery, New York
Not on view, please request access
6 1/4 x 8 1/4 in. (15.9 x 20.8 cm)
Walter R. Beardsley Endowment for Contemporary Art

Our collection information is a work in progress and may be updated as new research findings emerge. If you have spotted an error, please contact Raclin Murphy Museum of Art at RMMACollections@nd.edu.