Todd Webb, The Sixth Avenue (Sixth Avenue Between 43rd and 44th Streets), New York, New York, 1948. ©Todd Webb / MUUS Collection.
The MUUS Collection has acquired the complete archive of photographer Todd Webb, preserving the work of one of the most important chroniclers of postwar America. Spanning approximately 15,000 prints, 50,000 negatives, and a wealth of personal ephemera, the archive offers an expansive look at Webb’s decades-long career documenting cities, landscapes, artists, and everyday life.
Though Webb is best known for his photographs of New York City in the years following World War II, curiosity and adventure defined his career. Born in Detroit in 1905, he came to photography later in life after losing his savings during the stock market crash of 1929. His passion for the medium grew quickly. By the late 1930s, he was studying photography alongside future luminaries and later completed a workshop with photographer Ansel Adams, an experience that shaped his commitment to straightforward, unmanipulated image-making.
After serving as a photographer in the U.S. Navy, Webb moved to New York in 1945 with the goal of documenting the city. Using a large-format camera and tripod, he photographed everything from crowded streets and neighborhood storefronts. His images captured a metropolis undergoing dramatic change while preserving the rhythms of daily life that often escaped attention.
Webb’s photographs from this period remain among the most compelling visual records of postwar New York. During this time, he also joined a vibrant artistic community and formed friendships with figures such as Georgia O’Keeffe, Gordon Parks, and Berenice Abbott. He created memorable portraits of many of the artists, photographers, and cultural figures who shaped the era, further cementing his place within that circle.
Perhaps the most ambitious chapter of Webb’s career came in the mid-1950s, when he received back-to-back Guggenheim Fellowships to photograph the historic trails early American settlers traveled on their journeys west. Rather than trace the route by car, Webb walked much of the path between New York and San Francisco, producing a remarkable body of work that reflected both the American landscape and the spirit of exploration that guided his career.
The MUUS Collection’s recent acquisition will support new research, exhibitions, publications, and ongoing digitization efforts. Webb’s journals and correspondence offer additional insight into the photographic community of New York while helping introduce his work to new generations of viewers. The acquisition marks a fitting next chapter for a photographer who spent his career looking closely at the world around him.
The MUUS Collection’s acquisition of Todd Webb’s archive preserves more than 15,000 prints and 50,000 negatives from one of the most important photographers of postwar America.
Todd Webb, Near Fulton Fish Market, 1946, 1946. ©Todd Webb / MUUS Collection.
Webb spent decades capturing people and places with curiosity and precision, particularly those in New York City after World War II.
Todd Webb, O'Keeffe on the Portal, Ghost Ranch, 1963, 1963. ©Todd Webb / MUUS Collection.
Todd Webb, Gordon Parks, Paris, 1951, 1951. ©Todd Webb / MUUS Collection.
The archive’s preservation and ongoing digitization will help bring Webb's photographs, journals, and personal records to new audiences for generations to come.
Todd Webb, Alfred Steiglitz, New York, 1946, 1946. ©Todd Webb / MUUS Collection.
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My Modern Met granted permission to feature photos by MUUS Collection.
Source: Todd Webb, a Photographer Who Once Walked From New York to San Francisco, Has Archive Preserved.
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