Elliott Erwitt Platinum Prints & Classic Snaps
This Autumn, a set of large platinum prints from four of Elliott Erwitt’s best known images will be available for purchase in the UK for the first time at Magnum Print Room, London. Shown in the context of a broader selection of fine photographs drawn from Erwitt’s distinguished career, the selection includes photographs of racial segregation in North Carolina (1950), a kiss reflected in the wing mirror of a car (California, 1955, above), 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). 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. Other well-known images by Erwitt included in this exhibition as signed silver gelatin prints include portraits of Marlon Brando (1954), Grace Kelly (1956), Sophia Loren (1962) and Che Guevara (1964), a selection of his best known dog images and evocative, stolen moments, such as, a couple dancing in the kitchen in Spain (1952), a dove taking flight (1955), and a mother and baby (1953).
Magnum Press Release
Elliott Erwitt Platinum Prints & Classic Snaps
Dates: 15 Sept – 13 Nov 2010
Magnum Print Room, London
Set of large scale platinum prints by legendary Magnum photographer Elliott Erwitt exhibited in the UK for the first time
Elliott Erwitt is one of the most respected Twentieth Century photographers. This Autumn, a set of editioned 30”x40” platinum prints from four of Erwitt’s best known images will be available for purchase in the UK for the first time at Magnum Print Room, London.
Shown in the context of a broader selection of fine photographs drawn from Erwitt’s distinguished career, the selection includes photographs of racial segregation in North Carolina (1950), a kiss reflected in the wing mirror of a car (California, 1955), 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). Launched at this year’s Rencontres d’Arles in July, the four platinum prints were produced in May 2010 using cutting edge technology. Erwitt’s archive includes classic photojournalism and film star portraits from Hollywood and Magnum’s golden age in the 1950s, along with more personal documentary, observational work and witty sequences, often including one of his favourite subjects, dogs. A master of the one-liner, Erwitt is as unpretentious and eloquent as are his photographs, which communicate an infectious joie de vivre.
Other well-known images by Erwitt included in this exhibition as signed silver gelatin prints include portraits of Marlon Brando (1954), Grace Kelly (1956), Sophia Loren (1962) and Che Guevara (1964), a selection of his best known dog images and evocative, stolen moments, such as, a couple dancing in the kitchen in Spain (1952), a dove taking flight (1955), and a mother (his then wife) and baby (1953).
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. They are a new way of seeing and experiencing familiar iconic images.”
Photo © Elliott Erwitt/Magnum Photos
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