Todd Webb (American, 1905-2000) is best known for his photographs capturing the character of everyday life in New York City and Paris during the 1940s-50s. Born Charles Clayton Webb III in Detroit, he became interested in photography while working for Chrysler Corporation. In 1938 he joined the Chrysler Camera Club and became close friends with another club member, Harry Callahan. Both men were greatly inspired by a workshop with Ansel Adams during his visit to Detroit in 1941, and in the summer of 1942 they made a trip out west to photograph. During World War II Webb served as a photographer in the navy and following his discharge in 1945 moved to New York City. He roamed the city's streets, recording with his camera the experiences of daily life. In early 1947 Roy Stryker hired Webb to work on the Standard Oil of New Jersey photographic project, sending him on assignment to Philadelphia, Louisiana, Pittsburgh, and New England. The following year Webb visited Paris after a summer spent photographing the English countryside for the color agency Cameraclix. He returned to Paris in 1949, living there until 1952. In 1955 and 1956 Webb received fellowships from the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation for a photographic study of the pioneer trails out to Oregon and California. He went on to do work for the United Nations, to document early Texas buildings under a commission from the Amon Carter Museum, Fort Worth, and to photograph in Europe under a 1979 fellowship from the National Endowment for the Arts.