Artist
Sol Libsohn (American, 1914–2001)American, 1914–2001
CultureAmerican
Titles
- Hester Street
Date1942, printed later
Place depictedNew York, New York, United States
MediumGelatin silver print
DimensionsImage: 9 3/4 × 9 7/8 in. (24.8 × 25.1 cm)
Sheet: 13 15/16 × 10 15/16 in. (35.4 × 27.8 cm)
Sheet: 13 15/16 × 10 15/16 in. (35.4 × 27.8 cm)
Credit LineMuseum purchase funded by the Polaroid Foundation
Object number81.53
Not on view
Explore Further
Department
PhotographyObject Type
Sol Libsohn’s Hester Street
is a remarkable study in attention. Taken in the predominately Jewish
neighborhood in New York City’s Lower East Side, this photograph captures a
dense and diverse series of gazes. In the lower half of the image, two men and
a young boy look straight at Libsohn’s camera, while above them, women and a
man look away toward something unseen. In the far right, the massive eyes of an
optometrist’s sign stare blankly outward.
Provenance[Visual Studies Workshop, Rochester, New York]; purchased by MFAH, 1981.
Exhibition HistoryLoaned to Manes Center of the Union of Czechoslovak Creative Artists, Progue, c/o U.S.I.A., Washington, D.C. for "The 150th Anniversary of the Invention of Photography: Prague 1989," from Aug. 1 to Sep. 30, 1989 (LN:89.10).
Inscriptions, Signatures and Marks
Signed in pencil, recto, bottom right: Sol Libsohn
Signed in pencil, verso, bottom center: Sol Libsohn
Inscribed in pencil, verso, bottom left: 88 Rivington St. // N.Y.C. // East Side // Circa 1940
Signed in pencil, verso, bottom center: Sol Libsohn
Inscribed in pencil, verso, bottom left: 88 Rivington St. // N.Y.C. // East Side // Circa 1940
Signed in pencil, recto, bottom right: Sol Libsohn
Signed in pencil, verso, bottom center: Sol Libsohn
Signed in pencil, verso, bottom center: Sol Libsohn
Cataloguing data may change with further research.
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