Celebration at End of War

Weegee, Celebration at End of War, ca. 1945, gelatin silver print, 13 ³⁄₈ x 10 ¹⁄₂ in. (33.9 x 26.8 cm.), Smithsonian American Art Museum, Museum purchase, 1974.32.4

Artwork Details

Title: Celebration at End of War
Artist: Weegee
Date: ca. 1945
Location: Not on view
Dimensions: 13 ³⁄₈ x 10 ¹⁄₂ in. (33.9 x 26.8 cm.)
Credit Line: Museum purchase
Mediums Description: gelatin silver print
Classifications: Photography
Photoprint
Subjects: Object — other — flag
Recreation — party — block party
Recreation — dancing
Figure group
Object Number: 1974.32.4
Linked Open Data: https://edan.si.edu/saam/id/object/1974.32.4

Artwork Description

Weegee was a freelance photographer who sold lurid photographs of fires, car crashes, deaths, and violent crimes to tabloid newspapers. Born Usher Fellig, his unusual moniker is a phonetic adaptation of “Ouija,” the board game used by mediums and spiritualists in attempts to predict the future. A police radio allowed him to track crimes and other events, and created the illusion of clairvoyance. Weegee’s spur-of-the-moment photographs captured the quick movement and raucous energy before him.

A Democracy of Images: Photographs from the Smithsonian American Art Museum, 2013