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Weegee

Mayor Fiorello La Guardia

Description

Maker

Weegee (American, 1899-1968
b. Arthur (Usher) Fellig in Lemburg, Austria (now Ukraine))

Title

Mayor Fiorello La Guardia

Year

ca. 1943

Medium

gelatin silver print

Materials/Techniques

Techniques

gelatin silver print

Dimensions

Sheet: 19.5 x 24.9 cm (7 11/16 x 9 13/16 inches)

Signature / Inscription / Marks

Inscribed in graphite, verso UL: WEEGEE [underneath, the number 1 in a square]. Stamped in red ink, verso UL: USED AUGUST 4 1943. This stamp is crossed out in black ink. Adhered to verso, UR: newspaper caption reading "And puffs contentedly, confident the worst is [illegible]/ Photos by Weegee [illegible]. Inscribed in green ink, verso UR: Mayor LaGuardia. Inscribed in graphite, verso UC: LAGUARD[illegible]. Stamped in purple ink, verso CR: Credit photo by Weegee the famous. Stamped in black ink, verso C: CULVER SERVICE. Stamped over, in black ink, verso C: [illegible]tures, Inc. [illegible] New York, NY This picture is loaned for one reproduction only. Must not be used for advertising without written permission. Must be returned! Original must be returned within 30 days. Inscribed in graphite, verso LR: 75. Stamped in blank ink, verso LR: 19357.

Credit / Object Number

Credit

Gift of Dr. Richard E. Kremer

Object Number

2014.79

Type

Photographs

Exhibition History

Heads Up! Recent Gifts to the Collection

Jul 31, 2015 – Jan 10, 2016

Label copy

Freelance street photographer Weegee produced numerous images of New York City’s charismatic mayor Fiorella La Guardia (1882-1947), including this print, where the politician is seen surrounded by reporters, cigar in hand. The brightly lit figures and dark background seen here exemplify the artist’s signature “Rembrandt lighting,” created with a standard press camera and an automatic flash.

Weegee earned his nickname (as in Ouija) for his uncanny ability to appear at New York crime scenes, with the help of a police radio in his car, before officers arrived.

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Tombstone

Weegee (American, 1899-1968
b. Arthur (Usher) Fellig in Lemburg, Austria (now Ukraine))

Mayor Fiorello La Guardia, ca. 1943

Gelatin silver print

Sheet: 19.5 x 24.9 cm (7 11/16 x 9 13/16 inches)

Gift of Dr. Richard E. Kremer 2014.79

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