Mexico City

Helen Levitt

1941 · Gelatin silver print · Photographs

In her only extensive photographic journey outside of New York, Helen Levitt traveled to Mexico City in 1941 with Alma Agee, whose marriage to the writer James Agee was ending painfully. Levitt’s photographs show a city and its people struggling with poverty during a moment of epochal change—the inevitable pull of modernity. Here, witnessing a game of hide-and-seek, Levitt quietly, and seemingly invisibly, joins the children in their play.

Artist

Helen Levitt

Date

1941

Medium

Gelatin silver print

Department

Photographs

Credit line

Gift of Renee Bobbie Jaeger Agee, 2020