Martin Elkort

Martin Edward Elkort (April 18, 1929 – November 19, 2016) was an American photographer, illustrator and writer known primarily for his street photography. Prints of his work are held and displayed by several prominent art museums in the United States. His photographs have regularly appeared in galleries and major publications. Early black and white photographs by Elkort feature the fabled Lower East Side in Manhattan, New York City, showing its ethnic diversity, myriad streets and cluttered alleys. The Coney Island amusement park in Brooklyn was another favorite site during that period. His later work depicts street scenes from downtown Los Angeles and Tijuana, Mexico. Throughout Martin Elkort's long career as a photographer, he always showed the positive, joyful side of life in his candid images.

Early life and education Born in the Bronx, New York City, in a Jewish family originally from Slovakia, the son of Lewis Elkort and Esther Kronenberg, and the grandson of Herman Elkort who was born as Ilkovics, Martin Elkort grew up during the Great Depression. At the age of 15, he contracted polio and spent four months in the hospital. When he returned home, his parents gave him his first Ciroflex, a twin-lens reflex camera, that cost them about a week's salary.

Photographic career Elkort took his first professional photograph at the age of 10 while on a car trip with his parents to Baltimore. During the trip, he took photographs of flooded streets. The Baltimore Sun purchased his photographs of flood scenes and featured one of them on its front page. After his recovery from polio, he set out around Manhattan taking pictures of whatever interested him. Steichen rejected his photos, describing Martin's skills as "no better than the other 35 million amateur photographers in the country." Dejected but determined, Elkort worked tirelessly to improve his craft and two years later, he met with Steichen again. This time the famous curator bought three of his images for the museum's collection: "Soda Fountain Girl", "Puppy Love", and "The Girl With Black Cat", all uplifting images of children at Coney Island. Seamstresses, tailors, pattern makers, pressers; here they learned a trade that was much needed in New York's growing fashion and garment district. In 2008, Elkort donated 33 of his vintage ORT photographs to the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington, D.C.

Later period: Los Angeles After receiving a digital camera for his 70th birthday, Martin's photographic career re-ignited. He began to show his current and older work in galleries around the country. He also found a renewed interest in the New York Photo League. along with David Schulman and David Stork. Modeled after the New York Photo League, its mission is to expose the wider public to photography's essential social, political and aesthetic values. He also writes articles for magazines dealing with photography including Rangefinder and Black & White Magazine.

, Elkort's work is widely exhibited and can be found in the permanent collections of the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington, D.C.; the Museum of Modern Art in New York City; The Jewish Museum (Manhattan) in New York City; the Columbus Museum of Art; The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston; The J. Paul Getty Museum in Los Angeles; as well as many corporate and private collections. to promote better wheelchair access on buses and at airports, hotels and major destinations.

Publications Publications by Elkort The Secret Life of Food: A Feast of Food and Drink History. Folklore, and Fact. J.P. Tarcher. 1991. . Getting from Fired to Hired: Bounce Back from Losing Your Job and Get Your Career Back on Track!. Petersons Guides. 1997. . Children: Behind The Lens: Street Photography Capturing the Essence of Childhood. Self published. 2015. .

Publications with contributions by Elkort Higonnet, Anne and Lafo, Rachel, "Presumed Innocence – Photographic Perspectives of Children". DeCordova Museum, 2008 Klein, Mason and Evans, Catherine, "The Radical Camera: New York's Photo League, 1936–1951". Yale University Press, 2011

Exhibitions New York Photo League – Group Shows, 1948–1951 Life Magazine Contest for Young Photographers – Finalist, 1952 Museum of New Mexico, Santa Fe, NM – Photographer's Annual Shows, 1956 & 1958 Artseal Gallery, San Francisco, CA – Group Shows, 2001, 2005 Alpert Jewish Community Center, Long Beach, CA – One Man Show, 2001 Fototeka Gallery, Los Angeles, CA – One Man Show, 2002 Photo Impact, Hollywood, CA. – One Man Show, 2003 John Cleary Gallery, Houston, TX – Two Man Show, 2003 Millard Sheets Gallery, Pomona, CA – Group Show, 2005 Metro Gallery, Los Angeles, CA – Group Show, 2006 BLMan Gallery, Los Angeles, CA – One Man Show, 2006 Barry Singer Gallery, Petaluma, CA – One Man Show, 2006 The Jewish Museum, New York City, NY – Permanent Collection, 2008 acquisition The Jewish Museum – The Radical Camera: New York's Photo League, 1936–1951, November 2011 – March 2012 Catherine Couturier Gallery, Houston, TX – One Man Show, 2014

Collections Elkort's work is held in the following collections: Briscoe Center for American History at The University of Texas at Austin - Austin, TX - 2021 acquisition The Los Angeles Public Library - Los Angeles, CA - 2021 acquisition The Columbus Museum of Art - Columbus, OH - 2021 acquisition The Norton Museum - Palm Beach, FL - 2021 acquisition The Jewish Museum - New York, NY - 2020 acquisition The Museum of the City of New York - 2020 acquisition Museum of Modern Art, New York City, NY – 1950 acquisition Columbus Museum of Art, Columbus, OH – acquisition The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, TX – 2002 acquisition The J. Paul Getty Museum, Los Angeles, CA – 2004 acquisition O'Melveny & Myers – Corporate Collection, 2006 acquisition United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, Washington, D.C. – 2008 acquisition