Weegee, born Zloczew, Austria-Hungary 1899-died New York City 1968 Search this
Medium:
gelatin silver print
Dimensions:
13 3/8 x 10 1/2 in. (33.9 x 26.8 cm.)
Type:
Photography-Photoprint
Date:
ca. 1945
Exhibition Label:
Weegee was a freelance photographer who sold lurid photographs of fires, car crashes, deaths, and violent crimes to tabloid newspapers. Born Usher Fellig, his unusual moniker is a phonetic adaptation of “Ouija,” the board game used by mediums and spiritualists in attempts to predict the future. A police radio allowed him to track crimes and other events, and created the illusion of clairvoyance. Weegee’s spur-of-the-moment photographs captured the quick movement and raucous energy before him.
A Democracy of Images: Photographs from the Smithsonian American Art Museum, 2013
