Apparently, Bill Levitt’s Sister Was Something Of A Photographer

helen_levitt_chalk1.jpg
Helen Levitt passed away; she was 95, and an incredible, sensitive photographer of city life. Her pictures of childrens’ chalk drawings are probably my favorites, and I wish the documentary short she made after WWII with James Agee and Frances Loeb, In The Street, was available somewhere online.
But hey-o, why did no one tell me her brother is Bill Levitt, the mayor of Alta, Utah? Levitt and his family own the Alta Lodge and have been instrumental in keeping the resort pristine, safe from overdevelopment, and resolutely and wonderfully old school. Which means Helen left this life knowing that the rope tow was as it should be–about 100 yards too short.
Helen Levitt, 95 [nyt, image via lawrence miller]