Though one of the great characters of the world
of photography, Weegee was never one to mix
much with fellow photographers and he rarely
mentioned others who may have influenced him
during his career. There are only two contemporary
photographers whom he had any time for—Lewis
Hine and Alfred Stieglitz. In particular, Hine’s
images of destitute children in New York would
certainly have struck a chord with Weegee.
A disheveled, unshaven figure at the best of
times, Weegee—with his trademark stogie cigar—
was a well known character around the news and
magazine offices of New York, although he was
never an easy man to deal with according to those
that knew him professionally. Weegee only really
felt totally at ease among his ‘own people’—usually
down at Sammy’s in the Bowery which was one of
his favourite haunts. Many of the images taken at
Sammy’s—or ‘‘a poor man’s Stork Club’’ as he
used to refer to the bar— illustrate another side
of Weegee, and the majority of his light-hearted
and humanistic photographs were captured at
Sammy’s. More a technician than a great photo-
grapher in the classic sense, Weegee’s real talent lay
in his ability to ‘connect’ with his subjects, particu-
larly with those from a similar poor background,
and he was often emotionally affected by the scene
he was confronted with. Very much a one-off,
Weegee will be chiefly remembered for the material
he shot in New York, and his photographic legacy
is predominantly one of raw emotion giving the
viewer a unique insight into the lives of both rich
and poor in New York during that period.
MatthewButsonSeealso:Crime Photography; Hine, Lewis; Infrared
Photography; Life Magazine; Look; Museum of
Modern Art; Photo League
Biography
Born in Lemberg (Lvov), Austria (now in the Ukraine) of
Jewish descent on 12 June 1899, Usher H. Fellig was the
second of seven children and arrived with his family in
New York in 1910. As part of the great wave of immi-
grants flooding into New York’s Lower East Side at the
time, Usher immediately became Arthur—his name hav-
ing been anglicised upon his arrival at Ellis Island.
Though Weegee married Margaret Atwood in 1946,
they separated three years later and in 1950 divorced.
Although he never remarried his long time friend Wilma
Wilcox, whom he had known since the early 1940s,
remained his constant companion until his death. Diag-
nosed with diabetes in 1957, Weegee’s final years were
somewhat melancholy and he died in New York on 26
December 1968 at the age of 69. After his death Wilma
continued to promote Weegee’s work and was chiefly
responsible for continuing his spirit, tradition, and mem-
ory. In 1976, Wilma was introduced to Cornell Capa,
founding Director of the International Center of Photo-
graphy in New York and, upon her death in 1993, she
bequeathed her entire collection of original prints, nega-
tives, letters, and Weegee’s personal effects to ICP.Further Reading
Anonymouos. ‘‘Weegee.’’Creative Camerano. 61 (July
1969): 252–259.
Coplans, John. ‘‘Photography: Weegee the Famous.’’ Art in
America (Sept/Oct 1977): 37–41.
Fondiller, Harvey V. ‘‘Gravure Portfolio: Weegee’s New York.’’
Popular Photographyvol. 82, no. 6 (June 1978): 120–129.
Fondiller, Harvey V., Norman Rothchild, and David Ves-
tal. ‘‘Weegee: A Lens on Life, 1899–1968.’’Popular
Photographyvol. 64, No. 4 (Apr 1969): 92–95, 100.
Fuller, Graham. ‘‘Don’t Blink Say Weegee.’’Interviewvol. 22
(October 1992): 134–137.
Goldman, Judith. ‘‘Weegee the Famous.’’Quest/77vol. 1,
no. 4 (Sept/Oct 1977): 69–74.
Lopatin, Judy. ‘‘Retrospective on Weegee.’’CEPA Quar-
terlyvol. 3, no. 1 (Fall 1987): 11–14.
Martin, Murray. ‘‘Flash Suit, Flash Myth: An Interview
with Weegee’s Widow, Wilma Wilcox.’’Creative Camera
no. 218 (Feb 1983): 834–837.
Orvell, Miles. ‘‘Weegee’s Voyeurism and the Mastery of
Urban Disorder.’’American Artvol. 6, no. 1 (Winter
1992): 18–41.
Scully, Julia. ‘‘Seeing Pictures: Weegee the Famous, Turned
News Photos into Powerful Social Documents. What
Made Weegee Run?’’Modern Photographyvol. 14 no.
12 (Dec 1977): 8, 10, 24, 28.
Weegee. ‘‘Here’s Fun from My Bag of Camera Tricks.’’
Popular Mechanicsno. 105 (April 1956): 126–131.Capsule Biography
Born in Lemberg, Austria (now part of Ukraine), 1899 as
Usher H. Fellig. Emigrated to USA 1910. On arrival in
New York, changed name to Arthur H. Fellig. Left
school at age fourteen. Joins Ducket and Alder photgra-
phy studio in 1918 as assistant. JoinsNew York Timesas
a darkroom assistant in 1921. Joins Acme Newspapers
(later UPI) as darkroom technician in 1924. Becomes
freelance photographer in 1935, first pictures published.
Changes name to Weegee around 1938 and installs police
radio in car, starts stamping prints ‘‘Weegee the
Famous’’ around 1940. First one-man exhibition ‘‘Wee-
gee: Murder Is My Business’’ in 1941 at The Photo
League, New York. Publication of first book,Naked
Cityin 1945. Publication of second bookWeegee’s Peo-
plein 1946. Marries Margaret Atwood in 1946, moves to
‘Hollywood, California. First appearance as extra in
Universal PicturesThe Naked Cityin 1948. Represented
at Museum of Modern Art, New York,50 Photographs
by 50 Photographersexhibition, organised by Edward
Steichen. Starts to experiment with abstract photography
with home made lenses 1947. Various technical consul-
tant jobs and small film roles between 1947 and 1952 in
Hollywood. Separated from Margaret Atwood in 1949,WEEGEE