Photo by W. Eugene Smith, David X. Young at work

Photo: 8 3/8" x 7 7/8"
Mat: 20" x 16"

W. Eugene Smith & the Jazz Loft
(Source: Time.com) When W. Eugene Smith first received notice for his work with LIFE Magazine, he was a war photographer during World War II. But, wounded on assignment in Okinawa in 1945, he soon turned to more personal stories.

He didnt invent the photo essay, TIMEs Richard Lacayo noted while including Smith in a list of the centurys most influential photographers. But more than any earlier photographer, Smith saw how it could offer a profound reckoning with the world. His grave narratives proceeded deeply into the lives of his subjects and the memory of his audience.

He had a way of getting into peoples lives. But nowhere was that more literal than at 821 6th Avenue in New York City, the building he lived in for a time--and where, next door, some of the most prominent jazz musicians and artists of the 1950s would come to jam. Zoned for a commercial space, disguised as an office, it was a legendary jazz locale. Smith began constantly recording the world around him in the building, including audio and photographic records of what went on in that loft.

Good condition overall