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Elliott Erwitt – Platinum Prints & Classic Snaps

Four of Elliott Erwitt’s most iconic images will be presented in the UK for the first time as editioned, large format platinum prints, in an exhibition of fine photographs spanning Erwitt’s distinguished career. Produced in May 2010 using cutting edge technology, and launched at this year’s Recontres D’Arles in July, these 30”x40” platinum prints feature Erwitt’s photographs of racial segregation in North Carolina, 1950; a kiss reflected in the wing mirror of a car, California, 1955; a glamorous movie star Marilyn Monroe, New York, 1956 and one of his best loved pictures of the relationship between man and dog Felix, Gladys and Rover (New York, 1976).

Born in 1928 to Russian parents in Paris, Erwitt spent his childhood in Italy before emigrating to the United States. He developed an interest in photography as a teenager in Hollywood, and worked in a commercial darkroom in his spare time before experimenting with photography at college. In 1948 he moved to New York where he took film classes, subsequently travelling to Italy and France in 1949. Drafted for military service in 1951, he undertook various photographic duties while serving in a unit of the Army Signal Corps in Germany and France. He joined Magnum in 1953 at the invitation of Robert Capa.

Erwitt’s archive includes classic photojournalism and portraits of film stars from Hollywood and Magnum’s golden age in the 1950s, along with more personal documentary, observational work and witty sequences, more often than not including one of his favourite subjects, dogs. A master of the one-liner, Erwitt is as unpretentious and eloquent as his photographs, which communicate an infectious joie de vivre.

Outspoken in his critique of digital manipulation, Erwitt has, however, embraced the ability of technology to create new opportunities for analogue techniques. Using a new technique developed by the specialist printmaker Arkady Lvov and digital printing expert Gabe Greenberg over eight years, Erwitt’s platinum prints were produced using the latest Large Format Photo Negative application from HP. Of these prints, made in Lvov and Greenberg’s New York studios, Erwitt says:

“When you put the platinum prints side by side with silver prints you see the difference. The platinum is more lush. The tonality is creamier. Platinum printing is the Rolls Royce of photographic reproduction and has traditionally been limited to modest dimensions. These new, large-format platinum prints, with their unusual size, are a Rolls Royce and Ferrari combined.”

Included alongside the platinum set are signed silver gelatin prints of some of Erwitt’s most well-known images: portraits of Marlon Brando (1954), Grace Kelly (1956), Sophia Loren (1962) Che Guevara (1964) and his beloved dogs, as well as his evocative documentary of stolen moments such as the couple dancing in a kitchen in Spain (1952), a dove taking flight (1955), and a mother (his then wife) and baby (1953).

Now in his 80s, Erwitt continues to travel widely and produce both personal and commercial work. This year alone he has shot high profile campaigns for San Pellegrino, Tod’s and the Puerto Rico Tourism board. Recent books include Rome and The Art of André S. Solidor in 2009, and his exhibitions Dog Dogs and his Retrospective continue to tour widely.