LETTER FROM NEW YORK

PHOTO ESSAY

Shot in the Dark

A new exhibition focuses on the lesser-known photos of the late, great Weegee

By Lauren Mechling
July 26, 2006

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Some of the lost kids in the Lost Children Shelter (1940).

Weegee never had any kids and only maintained contact with one of his six siblings. And yet, he gravitated towards children, perhaps because he could never shake the memories of his years as a poor, itinerant child. He took several photographs of children looking at murder scenes, children playing with fire hydrants and children at the movies. One of his most tender and famous pictures shows a cluster of children and their kittens sleeping outdoors. This photograph is from one of his many days exploring Coney Island. It shows a group of children at an orphanage, playful despite their circumstances.