Mapfre Foundation to exhibit American street photographer Helen Levitt's work

The work of American street photographer and cinematographer Helen Levitt will be on view in Barcelona this fall. 

The exhibit, hosted by the nonprofit Mapfre Foundation at the KBr photography center, will open on September 24 with around 220 photographs displayed. 

Levitt was born in 1913 to a Russian-Jewish family in Brooklyn and bought her first camera in 1934. She began photographing daily life in New York's working-class neighborhoods such as Spanish Harlem and the Lower East Side, taking many of the photos that would later gain her recognition. 

In 1943, the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) of New York hosted Levitt's first individual exhibition: Helen Levitt: Photographs of Children. 

Levitt also spent her career experimenting with cinema and color photography, and expanded her work to Mexico and the rural northeast United States. 

She often avoided constructing an explicit narrative around her photos, preferring to leave them open to interpretation. This ambiguity, along with what many have praised as her great ability to capture fleeting moments of human connection in urban environments, have contributed to the lasting notability of her photography. 

KBr will display Levitt's work in nine sections, including previously unpublished works, color slides, and photographs taken during her time in Mexico City in 1941. Also on display is Levitt's co-directed documentary film In the Street. 

The exhibition will be on display in Barcelona until February 1, 2026.