William Witt

William Witt (1921–2005) was born in Newark, New Jersey, and emerged as a prominent street and documentary photographer whose work captured the vitality of urban life in mid-20th-century New York. He studied photography under Paul Strand and Alexey Brodovitch and honed his artistic sensibility studying painting with Hans Hofmann at the Art Students League. Deeply influenced by the documentary style of the Farm Security Administration photographers such as Walker Evans, Dorothea Lange, and Ben Shahn, Witt developed a practice rooted in empathy, observation, and formal rigor.

In the late 1940s, Witt joined the Photo League, an influential group of socially conscious photographers, and exhibited with them until the group disbanded in 1951. Beginning his career in 1947, Witt produced powerful and spontaneous photographs that encapsulate the energy and character of New York City. His images are noted for their poetic sensibility and humanistic perspective, and many have become iconic within the photographic canon.

Witt’s photographs have been acquired by major institutions including the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, the Smithsonian Institution, and the Hallmark Collection. His work continues to be featured in exhibitions related to the Photo League and the New York School, where he is recognized for his contributions to the legacy of American street photography.