E D U C ATO R G U I D E This Educator Guide was designed for use in conjunction with field trips to the In the
Street exhibition, or for use as a stand‐alone classroom resource. The materials included here
New York, Helen Levitt, c. 1940. Vintage gelatin silver print. Gift of Dr. and Mrs.
contain
Robert O. Levitt, Telfair Museums, 1998+6+ © Estate of Helen Levitt+
curriculum connections aligned with Common Core and Georgia Professional Standards for 5th grade Visual Arts, Language Arts, and Social Studies, but are adaptable for use at other grade levels.
In the Street truly captures the spirit of Helen Levitt‟s work+ For more than seventy years she roamed the streets of New York City in and among its diverse people and sites to capture simple views of everyday life. Using a right-angle viewfinder on her camera, she was able to remain unnoticed and thereby document the city and its people as they truly were. Most of the works in this exhibition date to the 1940s and 50s, providing an invaluable look at the history of the city and its residents. Yet her work also demonstrates Levitt‟s significant artistic prowess+ Even early on, the artist‟s work was recognized by the Museum of Modern Art, thus cementing her role as a serious photographer. Her work today gives us a glimpse of both the history of life in the city and the potential of photography as an art form.