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New York City, 1974
©Elliott Erwitt / Magnum Photos

Elliott Erwitt:
The Art of Observation and Impromptu Photographs

FUJIFILM SQUARE Photo History Museum Exhibition

March 31 – June 29, 2022 (The exhibition closes at 16:00 on the final day)

PHOTO HISTORY MUSEUM

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Highlights

  • Elliott Erwitt (1928-) is a photographer, based in New York since 1949, having his career as a photographer for about seventy years and he still plays an important role as a photographer at Magnum Photos.
  • This exhibition presents around 30 valuable original prints during 1980s and 1990s, selected from his old masterpieces.
  • We hope you enjoy his works rich in humanity, being full of wit and humor, appreciated by a lot of people in all ages.

About the exhibition

The FUJIFILM SQUARE Photo History Museum is pleased to present an exhibition of works by Elliott Erwitt, the internationally acclaimed photographer and longstanding member of Magnum Photos.*

Based in New York since 1949, the career of photographer Elliott Erwitt (1928–) spans about seventy years. Erwitt was twenty-five years old in 1953 when he joined Magnum Photos at the invitation of Robert Capa, a founding member of the photographers' cooperative established in 1947. An early member of Magnum who has supported the cooperative by serving as its president for three years from 1966 to 1968, Erwitt has also demonstrated versatility in other genres, such as commercial photography, film, and television.

The exhibition features around 30 photographs selected from Erwitt's masterpieces, all of them valuable original prints created in 1980's and 1990's. Cherished by many generations, Erwitt's witty and humorous photographs overflow with a sense of humanity. A moment between lovers, the delightful expressions of children, the humorous relationships between people and their dogs—Erwitt's eye captures the drama in front of him objectively, but with affection in a reflection of his own life, depicting human emotion through photographs that capture each moment. In other words: the art of observation. The beautiful gelatin silver prints do not only convey Erwitt's magic, but they also symbolize the origin of photography, which is the act of recording.

Elliott Erwitt holds an important position as the oldest active photographer at Magnum. We hope you will enjoy the timeless fascination of these masterpieces.

* Conceived by photojournalist Robert Capa, Magnum Photos is a leading international photographers' cooperative established in 1947 with the aim of protecting and asserting the rights and freedoms of photographers. Founding members include Henri Cartier-Bresson, George Rodger, and David Seymour.

Profile of the Photographer

Elliott Erwitt (1928–)

Elliott Erwitt was born to Russian parents in Paris in 1928. When he was eleven, the family moved to the United States where Erwitt studied photography at City College in Los Angeles. His career as a photographer started in earnest in New York in 1949. In 1953, when Erwitt was twenty-five years old, he joined Magnum Photos at the invitation of the celebrated photographer Robert Capa. Witty and humorous, overflowing with a sense of humanity, Erwitt's work ranges from journalistic essays to commercial photography. Large-scale exhibitions of his work have been held at important art museums worldwide, including The Museum of Modern Art in New York. Erwitt's portfolio of photo books include To the Dogs (Wareware wa inu de aru, trans. Shuhei Takahashi, JICC, 1992), Between the Sexes (Futari no aida, trans. Junko Ogawa, Magnum Photos Tokyo, 1994), Museum Watching (Bijutsukan ni iko yo!, CREO, 1998), as well as four books published by teNeues: PERSONAL BEST (2006), UNSEEN (2007), NEW YORK, and DOGS (2008). Elliott Erwitt is based in New York.

Exhibition overview

Title FUJIFILM SQUARE Photo History Museum Exhibition
Elliott Erwitt: The Art of Observation and Impromptu Photographs
Dates March 31 – June 29, 2022
Time 10:00 - 19:00 (The exhibition closes at 16:00 on the final day. Last admission is ten minutes before closing.) Open every day
Venue FUJIFILM SQUARE Photo History Museum
Admission Free

*This exhibition is being held as a corporate MECENAT activity. Admission is free to allow everyone to enjoy this exhibition.

Number of works approx. 30 works
Organizer FUJIFILM Corporation
Support Minato City Board of Education

* Exhibitions and events may be subject to cancellation or change by force of circumstances. Please check our website or via phone before visiting.

PHOTO HISTORY MUSEUM

~ History of Photography — more than 190 years ~

Not many museums focus on the historical evolution of the photographic arts and cameras like you will discover here. More than 190 years of history are recounted through exhibits of antique cameras and Fujifilm products, as well as periodic exhibitions of historically significant photos. You will revel at how photography has transitioned over the years.

MECENAT
In 2021, The FUJIFILM SQUARE Photo History Museum was recognized by the Association for Corporate Support of the Arts for “contributions to society through the promotion of arts and culture” and has been authorized to use the “THIS IS MECENAT 2021” logo.