Vivian Cherry , award winning documentary photography known for her street scenes of New York, is exhibiting works from her book Helluva Town, images of New York in the 1940’s and ‘50’s at the newly renovated Lionheart Gallery in Pound Ridge, NY. She will be signing copies of the book on Saturday, September 8 from 12 to 3 p.m.
After being closed for extensive renovations for nearly a year, The Lionheart Gallery is up and running at 27 Westchester Avenue, sporting a stunning new look, a new focus on top drawer contemporary art and a new owner, a European art dealer. The new gallery has soaring ceilings and the contemporary look of a sophisticated Chelsea, New York Gallery. Artists range from some of the top talents of the region to the internationally known, such as Mihail, whose bronze life-sized elephant sculpture graces the United Nations plaza and Vivian Cherry whose work has been exhibited in MOMA, the Brooklyn Museum of Art, International Center for Photography and the National Portrait Gallery of the Smithsonian Museum.
Vivian Cherry is a former New York night club and Broadway dancer who performed in the 1945 revival of Showboat. She literally became a photographer by accident, when a fall interrupted her promising dance career. While recuperating she worked printing film in the darkroom of a news agency and became bitten by the photography bug. She received a scholarship to the Photo League and studied with founder Sid Grossman. Harnessing her observant eye and agility as a dancer, she developed an intuitive sense of the defining moment. Soon she was selling photos to national magazines such as Life, and for over 60 years she been documenting the enormous changes and mood shifts of the New York streets. Today at 92 she is “still clicking” and recently received the Lifetime Achievement Award from B & H Photo.
The Lionheart Gallery, at 27 Westchester Avenue in Pound Ridge, NY, is open Wednesday through Saturday from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Sundays from 12 to 4 p.m. 914-764-8689. Website: www.thelionheartgallery.com
