Larry Silver's Black/White Photos of NYC 1949-55 Shimmer with Beauty

Bronx born & raised, Larry Silver's (b. 1934) photos of NYC & its burrows from 1949-1955 are view at the NY Historic Society.  These images have gone mostly unheralded, yet deserve to be spotlighted and admired for their scintillating & aesthetic appeal.  Perhaps, his black/white photos have been overshadowed by his contemporary American photographers such as Ansel Adams, Margaret Burke-White, Dorothea Lange, Joe Rosenthal, Diane Arbus and Gordon Parks.  These photographers have captured iconic images of the 20th C.  Silver deserves accolades for his artistic composition & indelible images featuring beautiful landscapes & arresting images.  Silver's photos possess a quiet omnipotence & hone in on an epoch in America's history just after WWII.  His silver gelatin black/white prints highlight life in the New York city area at a time when life was furtively changing.  The appeal of these photos are apparent when close up to his subject as in "The Boy on Rooftop" '51 & compelling taken from a distant vantage, "Raft, NY Botanical Garden" '50.  "Raft" captures an adventurous spirit of young men in a surprisingly rustic setting for an urban locale.  "Polio Camp" evoked strong feelings of sympathy.  Two young boys with leg irons are seen standing on wooden fence looking with longing at whatever is occuring out of sight of the camera.  Also note the "United Nations Construction" '51 which shows 2 young boys climbing on a rough construction site for the future landmark.  Silver's eye for composition is notable.  I felt an underlying sense of melancholy in many of his works as in "Polio Camp" & "The Boy on Rooftop." There is a feeling of isolationg & solitude.  Also, the passage of time is felt viewing NYC on the precipice of major change.   Larry Silver's photos are overdue for acclaim.  Silver's body of work from 1949-1955 are of major significance & worth seeing.   Silver's photos belong in the same echelon as the major mid-20th C documentarian/photographers.