Joe Schwartz

Joe Schwartz
1913 – 2013
Home page: http: //www.joeschwartzphoto.com
Archive contact: Paula Motlo – joeschwartzphotos@gmail.com

Joe Schwartz (American, b. July 6, 1913 – d. March 13, 2013) was born to immigrant
parents from Eastern Europe, on the top floor of the tenement building at 47 Humboldt
Street in Brooklyn, New York. “Baby” Schwartz began his new life as a “have-not” …
and the “have-nots” were the very people that he chose to photograph during his
lifetime. Joe’s camera became his notes, sketches, diary, memory identifiers, and his
key to the many doors he was afraid to open without the use of the lens. His camera
was used, not as an intruder, but as a participant in each scene.

In the 1930s, David Robbins introduced Joe to the Photo League of New York. It was
there he interacted with the “greats” such as, Margaret Bourke-White, Dorothea Lange,
Ruth Orkin, and Walter Rosenblum. Joe was strongly influenced by the League’s high
standards and humanitarian values. He interacted with many dedicated artists in the
League and pursued his passion – documenting through photography, life on the streets
of New York as well as other areas of America. Joe’s photos captured the dignity of the
“unfortunates” and showed that hope still burned bright in the bellies of the immigrants
and the American Blacks. While focusing on inter-racial cooperation and understanding,
Joe fulfilled his vision – to serve as a philosopher of hope rather than a messenger of
despair.

Joe married in 1939; he served as a combat photographer on Iwo Jima during World
War II; and as a staff member of Leatherback Magazine. During the war his photos were
printed in several notable publications; and in 1946, Joe was a recipient of the Best
Picture of the Year award. Joe graduated from the Fred Archer School of Photography;
worked as a lithographer; owned Color Magic, a successful print shop; and published
his own photography book, Folk Photography: Poems I’ve Never Written.

Schwartz’s photographs have been widely exhibited. His works are part of the
permanent collections at: Smithsonian National Museum of African American History
and Culture (open to the public in 2016 at the National Mall); J. Paul Getty Museum;
Museum of Modern Art New York; Skirball Cultural Center of Los Angeles; Houston
Museum of Fine Arts; National Gallery of Canada; Santa Barbara Museum of Art;
Columbus Museum of Art; Harn Museum in Arizona; and Center for Creative
Photography at the University of Arizona.

Photo captions:

1. TRICYCLE GANG – 1940s, photo by Joe Schwartz – Herkimer Street, Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brooklyn, New York, p.91

2. SULLIVAN MIDGETS – 1930s, photo by Joe Schwartz – Sullivan Street, Greenwich Village,  Lower Manhattan – Italian street gang – “Nothing creative to do – nothing to be proud of -except to act tough – Kid-Folk seek low-grade excitement to vent their energies and anger.” p.66

3. MISS AMERICA – 1948 – Ocean Hill, Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brooklyn – “African American girl at a patriotic gathering.” p.16

4. DOES DISCRIMINATE – 1940s – Ocean Hill, Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brooklyn – “National Negro Congress, Citizens Affairs Committee – First black women to picket chain (Woolworths) for jobs. p.116

5. TWO’S A TEAM – 1940s – Kingsboro Federal low cost housing project, Ocean Hill, Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brooklyn – (a mural of this photo is currently on display at the National Mall in Washington D.C. in front of the new Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture that’s being built). p.41

6. WORK DONE, A FLIGHT BEGUN – 1939 – (year of the New York’s World Fair) – Soho district Remembering the Photo League of NYC – 18 Saint Marks Place – Sign: “Accordion Repairing” – Man on stairs, a window shade repairman, has a bag full of window shades. p210