Willing to be Lucky: Oct 21, 2006 - Jan 3, 2007

The exhibition, Willing to be Lucky: Ambitious New Yorkers in the Pages of LOOK Magazine, was a direct result of the digitization of the LOOK images. Curated by Thomas Mellins and Donald Albrecht, the show consisted of 130 large pigmented ink prints, ranging in size from 11 x 11 inches to 40 x 60 inches, made from vintage negatives and contact prints all gleaned from the LOOK Magazine archive at MCNY. The exhibit featured portraits of people who had moved to New York City in the 40s and 50s to make their fortunes, some of whom became rich and famous as well as those who did not reach their original goals, but made a life in the Big Apple. Ironically, the exhibit features many photos by Stanley Kubrick, then a staff photographer for LOOK Magazine, who later became the famous film director. In this exhibit are his photographs of Walter Cartier, aka the Prizefighter of Greenwich Village. Cartier became the subject of Kubrick’s first film, Day of the Fight.

Prints and the high-resolution scans from this exhibit are now in the museum's permanent collection.

Images: Stanley Kubrick. Phillip Harrington

LOOK images are available for licensing from the Museum of the City of New York by visiting their website or callling (212)534-1672