LIONHEART GALLERY REOPENS; Special event Saturday
Vivian Cherry , award winning documentary photography known for her street scenes of
New York, is exhibiting works from her book Helluva Town, images of New York in the 1940’s
and ‘50’s at the newly renovated Lionheart Gallery in Pound Ridge, NY. She will be signing
copies of the book on Saturday, September 8 from 12 to 3 p.m.
After being closed for extensive renovations for nearly a year, The Lionheart Gallery is up and
running at 27 Westchester Avenue, sporting a stunning new look, a new focus on top drawer
contemporary art and a new owner, a European art dealer. The new gallery has soaring ceilings
and the contemporary look of a sophisticated Chelsea, New York Gallery. Artists range from
some of the top talents of the region to the internationally known, such as Mihail, whose
bronze life-sized elephant sculpture graces the United Nations plaza and Vivian Cherry whose
work has been exhibited in MOMA, the Brooklyn Museum of Art, International Center for
Photography and the National Portrait Gallery of the Smithsonian Museum.
Vivian Cherry is a former New York night club and Broadway dancer who performed in
the 1945 revival of Showboat. She literally became a photographer by accident, when a fall
interrupted her promising dance career. While recuperating she worked printing film in
the darkroom of a news agency and became bitten by the photography bug. She received
a scholarship to the Photo League and studied with founder Sid Grossman. Harnessing her
observant eye and agility as a dancer, she developed an intuitive sense of the defining moment.
Soon she was selling photos to national magazines such as Life, and for over 60 years she been
documenting the enormous changes and mood shifts of the New York streets. Today at 92 she
is “still clicking” and recently received the Lifetime Achievement Award from B & H Photo.
The Lionheart Gallery, at 27 Westchester Avenue in Pound Ridge, NY, is open Wednesday
through Saturday from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Sundays from 12 to 4 p.m. 914-764-8689.
Website: www.thelionheartgallery.com
