About This Series

In 1998, David Isay, a MacArthur Fellow from Sound Portraits, saw the Triptychs book that had been sent to him by Milton Rogovin. Isay was captivated by the book and asked Milton and Anne if his organization could collaborate on a project. Working together, they contacted 20 of the families who appeared in the Triptych book and conducted film and tape recorded interviews. The recordings were very compelling, and Isay encouraged Milton to re-photograph the families for a fourth and final time. An award winning documentary film was made about the project and a book was published with the interviews and photographs. In 2003 there was an exhibition at the New York Historical Society in New York City, focusing on the Quartet series.

This collaboration completed the Lower West Side Quartet series, its portraits of individuals and families spanning over three decades.

Related Publications

• Triptychs, Buffalo's Lower West Side Revisited, W.W. Norton, 1994

• From the Western Door to the Lower West Side, White Pine Press, 2009. Native American poet Eric Gansworth weaves his poetry with Milton Rogovin's Native American series.

• Picture Man: the Poetry of Photographer Milton Rogovin, [DVD] 19 min. 23 sec, 70 photographs, 17 poems, 2009

• Milton Rogovin: The Lens & the Pen: Photographs and Poems, Published by Palisade Press, 2009

• Milton Rogovin: The Forgotten Ones, University of Washington Press, 1985; Quantuck Lane Press, 2003

• The Bonds Between Us: Family Portraits From Around The World, White Pine Press, 2001

• Milton Rogovin: The Making of a Social Documentary Photographer, University of Washington Press and the Center for Creative Photography, September 30, 2006

For curriculum and a folio download of the Lower West Side series, as well as a history of the neighborhood written by JoAnn Wypijewski, please visit the education page.