Laurence Miller Gallery is pleased to present THE BIG APPLE: From Tycoons to Raccoons, featuring over 60 photographs by more than 30 photographers made between 1902 and 2016, celebrating the diversity and energy of New York City. The show title embraces both the earliest and the most recent works in the show: a rare 1903 portrait of the tycoon J.P. Morgan by Edward Steichen, in contrast to a charming view of a family of raccoons in Central Park by Hilary Swift, taken this December.
Much like Manhattan itself, the show will be organized by neighborhood and geography. Central Park is a central theme, and along with Swift’s raccoons will be twins by Garry Winogrand, dancing polar bears by Sylvia Plachy, a drowning scene by Dave Heath, and a brooding woman holding a child by Diane Arbus.
Manhattan as an island is another theme, dominated by three nine-foot panoramas by Kenneth Snelson, featuring the Brooklyn Bridge, the World Trade Center, and the FDR Drive. They will be surrounded by early 20th century views of ferries and ships by Alfred Stieglitz and Wendell MacRae, and recent color abstractions of the Gowanus Canal by Steven Hirsch.
The Empire State Building looms large, a platform for half a dozen bird’s-eye views, including Berenice Abbott’s classic New York at Night and Luca Campigotto’s View Looking North, both capturing the density and the radiance of the city at night. In an unusual treatment, Miguel Angel Garcia’s southern view reveals our unique skyline punctuated with water towers.
Midtown is anchored by another Kenneth Snelson panorama of Times Square, in stark contrast to the tender intimacies portrayed by Betsy Karel. Many other neighborhoods are covered by photographers such as Robert Frank, Louis Faurer,Weegee, Helen Levitt, Jefferson Hayman, Neal Slavin, Lisette Model and others.
Linda Troeller is represented by several colorful interiors on view from her recent monograph LIVING IN THE CHELSEA HOTEL.
The show is dedicated to the memory of Kenneth Snelson who died on December 22nd, 2016 at his home in Manhattan. He was 89. We are very pleased to be able to honor his memory and present his stunning panoramic photographs of New York City.