Culture news and discussion on TalkFuse.
Take the plunge! A deep dive into New York and other great American cities – in pictures
The Dulwich Picture Gallery in London is hosting Portrait of a City: A Century of American Photography, an exhibition running until 4 October that brings together more than 100 landmark images by some of the 20th century's most influential photographers. The show traces how rapid urban growth in American cities, particularly New York, spurred photographers to use the camera as a tool for documenting social and physical change, offering a visual history of a nation transformed by modernisation.
Featured works span decades and styles, from Lewis Hine's 1930s images of construction workers atop the Empire State Building and Edward Steichen's double-exposure portrait of the same skyscraper, to Saul Leiter's understated colour street scenes of Harlem and Garry Winogrand's fast-paced, tilted-frame shots of Park Avenue. Other photographers represented include Robert Adams, whose work examines postwar suburban expansion in Colorado, Peter Hujar, whose intimate portraits reflect New York's queer community during the Aids crisis, and Rebecca Lepkoff and Helen Levitt, both known for capturing everyday life on the city's streets.
In short
- Dulwich Picture Gallery hosts major US photography exhibition until 4 October
- Show features over 100 works spanning a century of American urban life
- Photographers include Steichen, Leiter, Winogrand, Hujar, Levitt and Lepkoff
Explained simply
American cities underwent dramatic transformation throughout the 20th century as rapid urban development reshaped the physical landscape and the communities within it. Photographers recognised that the camera could capture these changes as they unfolded, creating a visual record of a nation undergoing modernisation.
The Dulwich Picture Gallery in London is presenting an exhibition of over 100 landmark photographs from this era, featuring work by influential photographers including Lewis Hine, Edward Steichen, Saul Leiter and Garry Winogrand. New York features prominently in the exhibition, alongside images from other American cities.
The photographs show a wide range of subjects and styles, from workers building the Empire State Building to street scenes in Harlem, from intimate portraits of the queer community during the Aids crisis to views of postwar suburban growth. These images document both the physical transformation of cities and the lives of people who inhabited them during this period of rapid change.