In the grand tradition of 20th-century photography, there are many great image-makers. But few were so skilled as Elliott Erwitt when it came to gently capturing the poignant absurdities and paradoxes of the human condition. This delightful new collection, Last Laughs, is a monument to Erwitt’s unique vision and compassionate wit, a tour de force that assembles some of the most indelible photographs from his vast archive.
Erwitt’s sense of humor seems to have been the by-product of an unconventional upbringing. Born in Paris in 1928 to Russian parents, he then lived in Italy before immigrating to the U.S. at age 10. It was as a painfully shy 15-year-old in Hollywood that he traded his watch for a Rolleiflex camera, and an obsession took hold. Erwitt quickly became familiar with the trenches, both literal and metaphorical: having served as a photographer’s assistant in the army, he subsequently launched a career in commercial photography for magazines, advertising agencies, and film studios.
