New York, 1939
Gelatin silver print, on period mount
Image size: 7 ¼ × 8 ¾
Mount: 14 × 11 ½ in.
Signed and dated in pencil on verso
May 3, 2026
Children always seem a bit feral in Helen Levitt’s pictures, inhabiting a sovereign territory of stoops and sidewalks, without seeming to be subject to any higher authority. All the elements of a classic Helen Levitt photograph are in place here: the stoop of a Manhattan brownstone, a couple ragamuffin children, a rich tableau of expressive body language, and the inscrutable logic of play. Levitt clearly relished how city kids could transfigure their humble surroundings through sheer force of imagination. On the right, the boy leans against the building's cornice, oozing a blasé nonchalance that suggests he is too cool for the camera’s gaze. In contrast, the girl beside him peers over her kerchief like a magician making sure they have their audience's full attention before performing their next trick.
