Helen Levitt

tipped at corners to a mount, signed on the mount, framed, circa 1940, probably printed in the late 1940s

Acquired by Leo Manso from the photographer, circa 1949

By descent to the current owners, 1993

A Way of Seeing, pl. 8; Levitt, pl. 14

This early, warm-toned print on double-weight paper with a slight surface sheen, is on a buff-colored paper mount. The edges of the print are rubbed, where there is also tiny, random chipping. When examined in raking light, a crease at the upper right corner is visible, as well as several small, sharp handling creases that appear to barely break the emulsion. The mount is brittle, with light soiling, age-darkening, and loss of the top paper ply at the upper right corner tip. On the reverse of the mount is the annotation 'Manso' and matting instructions in unidentified hand in pencil.
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The full catalogue information for this lot is as follows:

tipped at four corners to a mount, signed by the photographer in pencil on the mount, annotated in an unidentified hand in pencil on the reverse, matted, framed, circa 1940, probably printed in the late 1940s

This print comes originally from the collection of abstract painter, collagist, and Art Students League faculty member Leo Manso (1914 - 1993). Educated at the National Academy of Design, Manso was an important member of the Provincetown, Massachusetts, art colony, participating in the legendary avant-garde 'Forum 49' series of lectures, forums, and exhibitions, where the first major show of works by abstract artists was held in the Summer of 1949.