Elliott Erwitt

Elliott Erwitt (1928–2023) was a French American photographer renowned for his candid and often humorous black-and-white photos that captured the human experience in everyday life.

As a humanist photographer, Erwitt found pictures everywhere he went: ‘It’s about reacting to what you see, hopefully without preconception,’ he said. ‘It’s simply a matter of moticing things and organising them. You just have to care about what’s around you and have a concern with humanity and the human comedy.’

Born in Paris, in 1928, Erwitt spent his childhood in Milan before moving to the United States in 1939. He developed a profound interest in photography, influenced by the glamour of Hollywood where he lived. Erwitt eventually studied photography at Los Angeles City College and later filmmaking at the New School for Social Research in New York. Erwitt’s career began in the 1940s. His skills were honed through his travels in the late 1940s through France and Italy, as well as in the 1950s when he undertook photographic duties in the Army Signal Corps in Germany and France.

Erwitt gained international recognition for his sharp eye and ability to find wit and charm in both mundane and historic moments. A long-standing member of Magnum Photos since 1953, and later served as the collective’s president in the late 1960s, Erwitt’s work spans decades and includes iconic portraits of John F. Kennedy, Simone de Beauvoir, Che Guevara and more. His photo of Jackie Kennedy at JFK’s funeral became one of his most poignant and widely recognised images. Similarly, his portrait of Marilyn Monroe on the set of The Misfits (1960) stands as a defining photograph in both his and Monroe’s career.

Elliott Erwitt’s photography is not only known for documenting the famous but also for celebrating the everyday, often with a humorous twist. His series featuring dogs has produced some of his most well-known images.

A master of street photography, Erwitt observed life with both humour and empathy; his extensive body of work continues to inspire and delight viewers worldwide, capturing the essence of the human spirit in every frame. Elliott Erwitt died in 2023 at the age of 95.