Lower East and Upper West: Vintage photographs of New York's vibrant street life
The vibrant street life and people of New York City's Lower East Side and Upper West Side in the 1950s and 1960s are presented in this fascinating series and new book of black-and-white photographs by Jonathan Brand.
Four related girls, one holding a cat, 1957
A census taker, and later an advertising copywriter, Brand chronicled life as he encountered it on his walks through the city. The book offers over 100 striking images of New Yorkers engaged in everyday pursuits, from the Bowery to Riverside Park, juice stands and barbershops to the theatre in the streets.
With an introduction by Julia Dolan, The Minor White Curator of Photography at the Portland Art Museum, Oregon, this is the first book from a photographer who developed his art alongside many of the best-known in his discipline. Brand's photographs capture the energy, odd juxtapositions, and intimate moments of life in mid-century New York City.
Jonathan Brand has been photographing daily life since 1956. A native New Yorker and Vermonter, he has also lived and worked in Scandinavia and Portland, Oregon. He developed his photography through study with some of the most accomplished photographers of his day: Richard Avedon, Garry Winogrand, David Vestal, and Bruce Davidson. An acute observer of street life as well as everyday family rhythms, Brand has captured public and private moments in arresting images.
From Lower East and Upper West by Jonathan Brand is published by powerHouse Books.
Boys on East Houston Street, 1960
Family out for a walk with collie, 1960
Woman with her hand on her hip, holding a cigarette, 1963
Theater in the Street performance, September 21, 1963
Vermont family on a motorcycle, 1957
Store vendor with watermelons in shopping carts, 1966
Monika in sunglasses, 1963
Two young men waiting at the corner, 1965
“7up your thirst away,” 1965
Window dresser striking a pose, 1960s
Jenny, Ulrika, and Monika on Swedish grandmother’s bedspread looking out the window toward Broadway at West 89th Street, 1967
