Elliot Erwitt . Personal Exposures

The Magnum° photographer Elliott Erwitt is well known for his subtle sense of humour. But Erwitt’s regard always catches a faint trace of the tragic, too. His photos reveal the deepest feelings of human beings: our compulsions, conditions, fears, longings, or pride. Some describe Erwitt as an expert in “visual wordplay”. Others value his ability to photograph motifs of bitter irony or political sensitivity without being forced, with feeling and, indeed, with humour. Without prescribing, preaching, or lecturing. Because Erwitt sees the observer as the only real judge of a photograph.