Third Avenue, New York

A native of Detroit, Todd Webb’s interest in photography was stimulated through his friendships with Harry Callahan and Arthur Siegel, as well as a 1941 workshop with Ansel Adams. In late 1945, after serving in World War II, Webb moved to New York and became part of the city’s thriving photographic community. Among his first subjects were the many welcome home signs that hung above doorways to greet returning soldiers. At once personal and public, these simple, straightforward evocations of kinship and community hinted at deep emotions shared by the veterans and their families, eager to return to a normal life after the war.