Elliott Erwitt, a photographer known for his work documenting dogs, celebrities and American life, has died. He was 95.
His daughter Sasha Erwitt confirmed to the New York Times that Erwitt died on Wednesday at his home in Manhattan.
Magnum Photos, a photography collective he led for more than 70 years, announced his death on Thursday, writing in a tweet: “It is with great sadness that we announce the passing of beloved Magnum photographer Elliott Erwitt. He died peacefully at home surrounded by his family.”
A photograph by Elliott Erwitt showing Truman Capote greeting guests at his “Black and White Ball” at the Plaza Hotel in New York City in 1966, as seen in the documentary “The Capote Tapes.”
(©Elliott Erwitt / Magnum Photos)
According to Magnum Photos, Erwitt was born in Paris in July 1928 to Russian Jewish parents. He spent much of his childhood in Milan, Italy. But in 1939, he and his family emigrated to the United States as fascism grew under Benito Mussolini. As a teenager living in Los Angeles, Erwitt took up photography and began taking portraits to make money. He studied at Los Angeles City College, where he continued to experiment with photography.
Over the course of his career as a photojournalist and commercial photographer, Erwitt captured both everyday American and high-profile personalities in black-and-white portraits and candid street photos. His prominent subjects included Marilyn Monroe, Grace Kelly, Jack Kerouac, William Carlos Williams, Simone de Beauvoir and Truman Capote.
He also photographed world leaders and their families such as John F. Kennedy and Jackie Kennedy. He captured moments during the famous diplomatic meeting between Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev and then-Vice President Richard Nixon in 1959. He also photographed Fidel Castro and Che Guevara in 1964.
What often caught the attention of the general public, however, were Erwitt's dog photos, which often contained a lot of humor and wit. These are either individual photos of dogs or photos that show the relationship between pets and their human owners.
“Dogs have more to do than children,” he wrote in his 1998 photo book “Dogdogs.”
“For one thing, they are forced to live a life that is truly schizoid. Every minute they have to live on two levels at the same time, juggling the dog world with the human world. And they are always on call. Their owners want instant affection every day and at any time of the day. A dog can never say that he has other things to do. He can never have a headache like a wife.”
Cristina de Middel, president of Magnum, called Erwitt “a tireless creator of icons” whose images “have helped strengthen our overall understanding of who we are as a society and as people, and generations of photographers despite the changes in the industry and the trends.” .”
She added: “The combination of his easygoing and humorous approach to the act of photography and his obsessive devotion made him a unique artist who we have lost today with great sadness.”
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