image size 12 x 18 (30.5 x 45.7 cm), paper size 16 x 20 inch (40.6 x 50.8 cm)
“One of my wives thought I saw myself in the dog pictures. She thought I identified with them. Maybe. Maybe. She was a very clever lady.” -Elliot Erwitt (Personal Exposure)

Elliot Erwitt’s first commercial assignment where dogs figured heavily was a fashion assignment for women’s shoes for the New York Times Sunday Magazine. Erwitt realized that dogs see more shoes than anyone, so he photographed the shoes from a dog’s perspective.
Erwitt’s photographs of dogs work on many levels. In Felix, Gladys and Rover, New York, 1974, a woman stands with a Great Dane and a well-dressed Chihuahua. We see and recognize the special relationship people have with dogs. All the elements of a great Erwitt shot are contained within this photograph: a mysterious woman, a cute dog, and playful juxtaposition. His dog photographs have anthropomorphic appeal and in the end, Erwitt dogs speak to the human condition.

BIOGRAPHY
Elliot Erwitt (b.1928) was born Elio Romano Erwitt in Paris, France to Russian parents. His family moved to Italy later on and finally settled in Hollywood, California in 1939. While studying at Los Angeles City College, he taught himself darkroom techniques and later worked in a commercial photography lab during WWII. He started taking photographs in the late 1940’s and became a member of Magnum in 1954. Erwitt became well known for his black and white candid shots of the ironic and absurd situations within everyday settings. His documentary photographs of world events have also gained Erwitt much recognition. In the Kitchen Debate, 1959, Nixon’s forefinger stabs Khrushchev in the chest and then becomes a major part of the Republican campaign the following year. Erwitt’s humorous and evocative photographs continue to entertain. He has published over 20 books of his work. Elliott Erwitt’s list of solo shows include the following: the Modern Museum of Art in New York, the Art Institute of Chicago, the Smithsonian Institution in Washington DC, the Museum of Modern Art in Paris (Palais de Tokyo), the Kunsthaus in Zurich, the Reina Sophia Museum in Madrid, the Barbican in London, the Royal Photographic Society in Bath, the Museum of South Wales in Sydney and the Spazio Oberdan in Milan.