Description

After quitting LIFE magazine in 1954, W. Eugene Smith moved into a shabby loft in New York’s flower district. Smith described the broken window as “the proscenium arch with me on the third stage looking through it, … and the whole audience in performance down before me, an everchanging pandemonium of delicate details and habitual rhythms.” LIFE published this work, “As From My Window I Sometimes Glance,” under the headline “Drama Beneath a City Window” on March 10, 1958, and in its 1978 book Great Photographic Essays from LIFE. The caption read: “Bursting from the florist’s in what was probably her Communion dress, the girl seemed a Dresden figurine come alive. Amid city’s tired things — ashcan, hydrant, battered flower stands — she became a creature of lovely fantasy. ‘For the moment,’ Smith remembers, ‘she took over the scene. Everyone turned to look at her.’ Then she was gone.”

Get Magnum news and updates directly to your inbox

Stay in touch
Monthly updates on the latest assignments, photographer projects and collaborations with brands.
Know when our quarterly 7-day square print sale is coming.
Learn about online and offline exhibitions, photography fairs, gallery events, plus fine print news and activities, on a monthly basis.
Get fortnightly tips and advice articles, find out about the latest workshops, free online events and on-demand courses.
Be the first to know about recent Magnum Shop drops. From new books and limited editions, to special offers, you can find it all on the weekly Magnum Shop newsletter.
Stay up to date every Thursday with Magnum photographers’ activities, new work, stories published on the Magnum website, and the latest offerings from our shop.