The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of December 19, 2025

Odessa, U.S.S.R.

1957

Elliott Erwitt

(American, 1928–2023)
America
gelatin silver print
Image: 16 x 23.9 cm (6 5/16 x 9 7/16 in.); Paper: 20.3 x 25.2 cm (8 x 9 15/16 in.); Matted: 35.6 x 45.7 cm (14 x 18 in.)
Gift of Walter Matzner 1978.170
© Elliott Erwitt/MAGNUM Photos, Inc.
Location: Not on view

Description

The son of Russian emigrants, Elliott Erwitt was born in Paris and came to the United States at the age of 10. Since the 1950s he has worked as a photojournalist, commercial photographer, and filmmaker, but is probably most widely known for his humorous images of people and/or dogs. Erwitt's intention "to make sure the major light in a picture falls at right angles to the camera" is clearly evident in this formal composition filled with shadows and highlights. Geometric shapes, angles, and lines contribute to the starkness of the picture of a young girl intently playing the piano while a towering woman watches.
  • Walter Matzner (through Burton R. Wolf)
  • Cleveland Museum of Art, Tom E Hinson. Catalogue of Photography. Cleveland, OH: Cleveland Museum of Art, 1996. Reproduced: P. 147
  • Looking at Children: Photographs from the Permanent Collection. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (July 20-December 4, 2002).
    CMA, July 20 - December 4, 2002; "Looking at Children". No catalog
    Year in Review: 1978. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (February 13-March 18, 1979).
  • {{cite web|title=Odessa, U.S.S.R.|url=false|author=Elliott Erwitt|year=1957|access-date=19 December 2025|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1978.170