This exhibition presents views of not one but several cities in the United States, including New York, Chicago, Los Angeles and San Francisco, from the early 1900s to the end of the 20th century (28 July–4 October). The work on display captures glamour as well as toil and hardship – sometimes in the same shot, as in Lewis Hine’s Riding the Ball High up on Empire State (c. 1930), an image of a shirtless construction worker helping build what was for decades the world’s tallest building. Other highlights include Alfred Stieglitz’s The Steerage (1907), admired by Picasso, in which two decks of a passenger ship teem with manual labourers and are bisected by a glistening gangway. Arthur Leipzig’s Divers, East River (1948) makes three people in sharp focus jumping into the water look like three stages of a single jump, and Bruce Davidson’s Subway series (1980–85) captures the energy and unpredictability of travelling in New York.
Find out more from Dulwich Picture Gallery’s website.
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