Rickerby from WWII to New York street life

American press photographer Arthur Rickerby will be celebrated in a new show, which looks to capture a unique career that took in WWII and New York street-life up to the 1970s.

Plane on a US aircraft Carrier c.1942
Plane on a US aircraft Carrier c.1942

A New Yorker by birth, Rickerby is best known in the US for turning a mirror on the city he lived in from 1921-1972.

This exhibition will trace his story back to a career which began by serving under Edward Steichen in the Naval Aviation Photography Unit of the Pacific during World War II.

Tumble on the Track 1956
Tumble on the Track 1956

Steichen would have been a worthy mentor. His own career as a photographer, painter and museum curator, began at the magazine Camera Work (1903-1917), where he worked as a photographer, and on graphic and type design.

Park in the Snow 1950s
Park in the Snow 1950s

After the war Rickerby worked for United Press International and as a freelance photojournalist before becoming a Life magazine staffer in 1961.

Street scenes, union strikes, President Kennedy, and sports events are all represented alongside overseas events.

Smoking Woman, from Boston Strangler series 1964
Smoking Woman, from Boston Strangler series 1964

The Daniel Blau gallery, which is putting on the show says, ‘Histalent is yet to be discovered by many, and this exhibition is an exceptional occasion to become aware of the breadth of his work and to acquire unique historical pieces.’

Motel Diner 1965
Motel Diner 1965

The Rickerby Show: Photographs by Arthur B Rickerby runs from 11 January-16 February at Daniel Blau, 51 Hoxton Square,  N1

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