Ted Croner, 82, Dies; Photos Captured New York Energy
NY Times
Ted Croner, whose rigorously blurry photographs of New York at night in the 1940’s epitomized the film noir energy of a city that never sleeps, died on Monday in Manhattan. He was 82. He died of natural causes, said Margit Erb of the Howard Greenberg Gallery, which represents him.
Mr. Croner belonged to what the curator Jane Livingston called the New York School of photography, which included Lisette Model, Diane Arbus, Richard Avedon, Robert Frank and William Klein. For the cover of her 1992 book “The New York School Photographs 1936-1963,” Ms. Livingston chose a picture by Mr. Croner. The picture, “New York at Night, 1948″ shows a Manhattan skyline reduced to abstract slashes of white light among black tall buildings against a gun-metal gray sky. Such images, Ms. Livingston wrote, “most quintessentially define the New York School.”
Mr. Croner’s best-known work is “Taxi, New York Night, 1947-48,” taken while he was a student at Alexei Brodovitch’s legendary “design laboratory.” In producing this dazzling, bold blur of an image, Mr. Croner took a leaf from his teacher’s book and went a few steps further. In 1945 Brodovitch had created a book of photographs, “Ballet,” which in its styleless style - all blur and unorthodox angles - captured the evanescent, elegant nature of dance.
According to Mr. Croner, Brodovitch asked him to take 12 to 15 photos of the city at night for a Strawbridge & Clothier department store display. Mr. Croner accepted the assignment, even though the $100 budget would barely cover the cost of film and processing.
“As things turned out,” Mr. Croner said, “it was one of my greater moments, not only as a photographer but also as perhaps the most important positive step in my career as a commercial photographer.”
Central Park South - 1947, Fine Art Print by Ted Croner, 24×26
Taxi, New York Night - 1947, Fine Art Print by Ted Croner, 24×26
“Taxi, New York Night- 1947″ by Ted Croner - Framed Artwork
“Times Square Montage- 1947″ by Ted Croner - Framed Artwork
“Top Hats…” by Ted Croner - Framed Artwork
