Dogs by Elliott Erwitt, Beetles + Huxley - exhibition review
Elliott Erwitt is a sprightly octogenarian of the Magnum agency, a roaming maverick who infuses his work with dry, ironic wit. His tastes range from advertising to magazines, global political incidents to street photography. And always, dogs.
What runs through Erwitt’s canine portraits is his obvious pleasure at seeing them in action — free but often, of course, anthropomorphised. A Birmingham dog show illustrates that with the women watching alongside a topiarised poodle being treated like the glamorous friend.
The dogs come in all sizes and breeds, jumping like gymnasts, asleep under a car and groomed like Cecil Beaton models. A tiny mutt leaping like a lamb is captured in a Cartier-Bresson “Decisive Moment.” Genetic backgrounds are reflected in habits, such as the Jack Russell burrowing on a sandy beach, a reminder of Erwitt’s thoughtful compositions and use of deep foregrounds.
On pavements, he crouches to catch passing paws, shoes and feet, to exclude the human character. But a most popular image shows a bulldog sitting outside a Manhattan property on the owner’s lap, its huge head covering his face like a dog mask.
The empathy shining through these photographs is evident in Erwitts’ admission: “I bark at dogs.”
Until March 1 (beetlesandhuxley.com, 020 7434 4319)
