“Art is a good way of looking at nudity without embarrassment”

– Elliott Erwitt (1928-2023)

Elliot Erwitt was an American photographer known for his black and white photos of ironic and quirky situations in everyday settings. Between 1949 and 1988, Erwitt went about capturing moments of people looking at art, individually, as couples and groups in the hallowed halls of museums. Taken secretly, often evading security guards, he pokes fun, asking what is more curious, the art, or the spectators? In the end, his candid photos became artworks themselves, each one a moment-in-time documentary of the cultural importance of these venues, both as a personal space to be curious, and a social space where people from all walks mingle to look at art, or each other. Some of his photos are wry visual puns. Others capture unique moments such as a young man reaching out to touch the bronze fingers of a statue. “People seem to be an attracted to items in museums with which they have a special affinity,” he writes. “Perhaps we are drawn to things that resemble ourselves.” In the end all museums are interesting. Even when they’re not.” He quips.

Selected Photographs of Elliot Erwitt