Obituary: Elliott Erwitt

“We are sad to share that after 95 extraordinary years, Elliott Erwitt has passed away peacefully at home surrounded by family,” are the words that appeared on November 30 on his official instagram channel. It is not only the entire photography community that mourns alongside his family, but also many more people around the world: there is hardly any other photographer, whose pictures have delighted us with such immediacy, charm and humour.  

Whether celebrities or unknown fellow human beings, whether on the street or in a museum, Elliot had an infallible ability to sense the right moment, to capture the iconic motif. He obviously found it very easy to document the mundane with humour and empathy. In doing so, as often as not, dogs played a major role. However, despite his fondness for our four-legged friends, the diversity of his work should not be forgotten. He became a member of the Magnum Agency in 1953, taking on all kinds of assignments – from fashion all the way to politics. He moved effortlessly between commercial ads and commissioned work, between reportage and personal projects. He preferred the latter, as they came about quite casually, and when he fortunately always seemed to have a Leica on hand.

Erwitt's work has been present in and become popular through countless photo books and exhibitions. The typical constant in his imagery was the elegant levity defined by humour and spontaneity. This solid foundation ensured that his photographs, whether everyday observations or work assignments, whether animal or political, whether still lifes or portraits, were imbued with astonishing emotional complexity. As a result, his motifs were always direct and entertaining, sensitive and pointed, as American as they were cosmopolitan.

Born Elio Romano Ervitz in Paris on July 26, 1928, photography did not figure in his early life. His family's story was characterised by the major political upheavals of the first third of the 20th century. His parents were Russian Orthodox Jews who had fled to Paris in 1917 following the Russian revolution. From there they moved to Milan. However, when confronted with Fascism in 1939, they were able to emigrate through France to the United States. Life in the US was still unsettled until Elliott made New York City his home in 1949. He continued to travel widely all his life, and spoke four languages fluently, but lived in the Upper West Side of Manhattan for around 60 years. It was there that he passed away peacefully on November 30, surrounded by his family. He was married four times and is survived by six children, ten grandchildren and three great-grandchildren.

On October 12 this year, during the Celebration of Photography in Wetzlar, Leica Camera AG inducted Elliott Erwitt into the Leica Hall of Fame. This honour was to be further celebrated with him in person next year, on the occasion of the opening of the new Leica Gallery in New York. With the vernissage scheduled for March, the inaugural exhibition will now become a tribute to the great, departed photographer. Even so, the many photographic moments he captured have already guaranteed his immortality. Many thanks, Mr. Erwitt.