Past Exhibition
Weegee, Anthony Esposito, Accused "Cop Killer," January 16, 1941. © Weegee/International Center of Photography.
Weegee, Line-Up for Night Court, ca. 1941. © Weegee/International Center of Photography.
Weegee, ["Ruth Snyder Murder" wax display, Eden Musée, Coney Island, New York], ca. 1941. © Weegee/International Center of Photography.
Weegee, [Installation view of "Weegee: Murder Is My Business" at the Photo League, New York], 1941. © Weegee/International Center of Photography.
Weegee, At an East Side Murder, 1943. © Weegee/International Center of Photography.
Weegee, [Police officer and assistant removing body of Reception Hospital ambulance driver Morris Linker from East River, New York], August 24, 1943. © Weegee/International Center of Photography.
Weegee, Hold up man killed, November 24, 1941. © Weegee/International Center of Photography.
Weegee, [Hats in pool room, Mulberry Street, New York], ca. 1943. © Weegee/International Center of Photography.
© International Center of Photography, 2012. Photograph by John Berens.
© International Center of Photography, 2012. Photograph by John Berens.
© International Center of Photography, 2012. Photograph by John Berens.
© International Center of Photography, 2012. Photograph by John Berens.
© International Center of Photography, 2012. Photograph by John Berens.
© International Center of Photography, 2012. Photograph by John Berens.
© International Center of Photography, 2012. Photograph by John Berens.
© International Center of Photography, 2012. Photograph by John Berens.
For an intense decade between 1935 and 1946, Weegee (1899–1968) was one of the most relentlessly inventive figures in American photography. His graphically dramatic and often lurid photographs of New York crimes and news events set the standard for what has become known as tabloid journalism. Freelancing for a variety of New York newspapers and photo agencies, and later working as a stringer for the short-lived liberal daily PM (1940–48), Weegee established a way of combining photographs and texts that was distinctly different from that promoted by other picture magazines, such as LIFE. Utilizing other distribution venues, Weegee also wrote extensively (including his autobiographical Naked City, published in 1945) and organized his own exhibitions at the Photo League. This exhibition draws upon the extensive Weegee Archive at ICP and includes environmental recreations of Weegee's apartment and exhibitions. The exhibition is organized by ICP Chief Curator Brian Wallis.
Weegee: Murder Is My Business
MAY 18–SEPTEMBER 2, 2012
"This exhibition affirms that Weegee brought to street photography a new, often shocking vitality. The combination of grit, humanity, intensity, merciless opportunism and spatial precariousness...regularly resulted in pictures that you can’t stop looking at...and don't soon forget."
— The New York Times
- Press Release PDF
- "Weegee's World" PDF — American History Magazine
- "He Made Blood and Guts Familiar and Fabulous" — The New York Times
- Sunday Mornings with Weegee: Breakfast and Guided Walking Tour




















