Nightlife in New York, Paris, and London as Captured by Iconic Photographers

Matt Growcoot

New York City nightlife in the early 20th century

Photography icons Helmut Newton, Weegee, Irving Penn, Brassaï, Berenice Abbot, and Bill Brandt all feature in a new exhibition focusing on nightlife in New York City, Paris, and London.

The hedonistic display is housed at New York’s Marlborough Gallery and captures underground subcultures, illicit activities, and subversive fashions of the early 20th century.

Weegee
Weegee, Lovers at the Palace Theatre, 1945. Image Courtesy of Howard Greenberg Gallery © Weegee Archive/International Center of Photography.

Not all of the photos included in the exhibition were taken in the Big Apple. Brassaï and Bill Brandt worked in Paris and London respectively capturing the joie de vivre of European party-goers.

Bill Brandt
Bill Brandt, Hermitage Stairs, Wapping, 1930s. © Bill Brandt / Bill Brandt Archive. Image Courtesy of Marlborough New York.
Brassaï,
Brassaï, Au Monocle, Jeune Invertie, circa 1932. © ESTATE BRASSAÏ – RMN-Grand Palais. Image Courtesy of Marlborough New York.
Au Monocle, un couple 1932 PN 1228_300 dpi
Brassaï, Au Monocle, un couple, 1932. © ESTATE BRASSAÏ – RMN-Grand Palais. Image Courtesy of Marlborough New York.
Bill Brandt
Bill Brandt, In the Public Bar at Charlie Brown’s, 1942. © Bill Brandt / Bill Brandt Archive. Image Courtesy of Marlborough New York.

Brassaï would wander the streets of Paris at night equipped with the recent invention of the flashbulb, a camera, and a box of 24 glass plate negatives. Brandt was inspired by Brassaï which led to his photobook A Night in London chronicling the chaos of a British night out.

Bill Brandt
Bill Brandt, Barmaid at the Crooked Billet, Tower Hill, 1939. © Bill Brandt / Bill Brandt Archive. Image Courtesy of Marlborough New York.
Brassaï
Brassaï, Groupe joyeux au bal musette de Quatre-Saisons, 1932. © ESTATE BRASSAÏ – RMN-Grand Palais. Image Courtesy of Marlborough New York.
Brassaï
Brassaï, Le bal des Quatres Saisons, 1932. © ESTATE BRASSAÏ – RMN-Grand Palais. Image Courtesy of Marlborough New York.

In New York, Berenice Abbott and Weegee would document nighttime scenes with Abbott capturing cityscapes and Weegee carried around a police radio scanner to arrive early at crime scenes.

Bernice Abbott
Bernice Abbott, New York at Night, 1932. © Berenice Abbott/Getty Images. Image Courtesy of Marlborough New York.
Weegee
Weegee, Listening to Frank Sinatra, Palace Theatre, 1944. Image Courtesy of Howard Greenberg Gallery © Weegee Archive/International Center of Photography.

Helmut Newton and Irving Penn are best known for their fashion photography but both captured New York at night. Newton’s provocative photography captures scantily clad women while Penn is best known for his pared-down fashion work for Vogue.

Helmut Newton
Helmut Newton, Security, New York III, 1976. © Helmut Newton Foundation. Image Courtesy of Marlborough New York.
Irving Penn
Irving Penn, Girl Behind Bottle, New York, 1949. © The Irving Penn Foundation. Image Courtesy of Marlborough New York.

Marlborough Gallery in the Chelsea neighborhood of Manhattan is celebrating this “pivotal period in the history of photography when the medium firmly established its position as an independent art form.”

Many of the photos exhibited are from the gallery’s extensive collection and have not been seen in decades. The exhibition also pays tribute to the role Marlborough played in displaying photography during the 1970s and 80s.

Nightlife is on at the Marlborough Gallery from March 7 until April 20. Head to the website for more.

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