Stanley Kubrick Shot These Photos on the New York Subway After Midnight in the 1940s

Apr 17, 2026

Matt Growcoot

A group of young people, some standing and some sitting, read books and papers on a crowded subway train. The scene captures focused study and quiet interaction among the passengers. — A chaotic scene on the New York subway in 1945, shot by Stanley Kubrick. | Photo courtesy of Duncan Miller Gallery

Stanley Kubrick is one of the most influential movie directors of all time. But less well-known is that he started out as a photographer, working full-time for Look magazine in the 1940s. Now, a remarkable set of photos he shot for Look in 1945 is set to be exhibited for the first time.

Life and Love on the New York City Subways was shot by Kubrick when he was just 17 years old. The series follows Kubrick’s late nights on the New York City subway system. The images form a striking, narrative-driven portrait of urban life in the immediate postwar period — revealing an early mastery of visual storytelling that would later define Kubrick’s celebrated filmmaking career.

A woman in a hat and coat knits on a subway train, seated next to a man in a suit. She holds her knitting and looks to the side. The scene appears to be from an earlier era, possibly the mid-20th century.

Two people sleep on an empty subway train; one slumps on a seat in the foreground with their head resting on their hand, while the other reclines on a bench in the background. The scene appears quiet and dimly lit.

According to his Wikipedia page, Kubrick was the official photographer at his high school, and joined Look as an apprentice when he was still a teenager. He went on to be a staff photographer and made a name for himself in storytelling. One feature, titled A Short Story from a Movie Balcony, saw one of his friends sit next to an unsuspecting young woman in a theater in the Bronx who unexpectedly slapped him for encroaching on her personal space.

Kubrick clearly had a penchant for getting photos in public without his subjects realizing: in the subway series, Duncan Miller tells ArtNet that Kubrick “wore his camera around his neck and rigged a wire shutter release into his coat pocket, allowing him to photograph subjects without their realizing it.”

Young man in a suit and tie holds a camera, looking directly at the viewer with a serious expression. The background shows other people in a softly focused, indoor setting with natural light. — Kubrick in London in 1949 while working for *Look* magazine. | Photo by Phillip Harrington

Black-and-white photo of people inside a subway car, some sitting and reading newspapers, while others stand holding onto straps. A woman stands in the center, arm raised, looking ahead with a calm expression.

Miller’s gallery, the Duncan Miller Gallery, is bringing the prints to The Photography Show in New York next week. “The photographs capture fleeting moments of intimacy, movement, and connection within one of New York’s most iconic public spaces. Together, they create a compelling visual narrative that bridges documentary photography and cinematic composition,” the gallery says.

Kubrick himself called New York’s subway trains a “reading room on wheels, a lover’s lane and, after 11 P.M., a flophouse.”

The photographs will be on show at booth F8 at the Photography Show, which is presented by AIPAD.