Erwitt

Erwitt, Elliott Erwitt, is a French-born American documentary photographer and photojournalist renowned for his black-and-white street photography marked by humor, irony, and humane insight. Born July 6, 1928, in Paris to Russian Jewish parents, he spent part of his youth in Milan before moving to the United States. He began working as a photographer in the postwar era and joined Magnum Photos in the early 1950s, becoming one of the organization’s most enduring members.

Erwitt’s work spans fashion, travel, and street photography, but he is best known for candid, human-centered images that capture ordinary moments with a distinctive wit. His photographs often emphasize timing, composition, and a quiet sense of irony, sometimes featuring animals in subtle, telling roles. He has contributed to numerous magazines and published a substantial body of monographs and retrospectives that explore everyday life, city scenes, and portraits of people and celebrities from a candid perspective.

Erwitt’s photographs are held in major museum collections and have been exhibited worldwide. He remains active in photography, continuing to shoot, publish, and participate in exhibitions and talks. His influence on street and documentary photography is widely recognized, and his work is regarded as a defining voice of postwar visual storytelling.