Skip to main content

Three Young Men

Danny Lyon

Artwork Details

Three Young Men
1965; printed 2010
Danny Lyon
gelatin silver print on paper
14 in x 11 in (35.56 cm x 27.94 cm)
Gift of Thomas Wilson '79 and Jill Garling '80
2013/2.336

Description

Subject Matter:

The Uptown, Chicago series was taken in 1965, shortly before The Bikeriders. Lyon chose a single street, Clifton Street, and photographed recent migrants from Appalachia. Lyon commented that most license plates on the streets were from Kentucky and Tennessee, and the area was referred to as “hillbilly heaven.” Wishing to draw awareness to subjects that were rarely seen, he gave people in the neighborhood dollars to pose for pictures. After photographing, he often returned to give his subjects small prints, usually Rolleiflex contact prints.

Physical Description:

A photograph of three young men standing in front of an outdoor, concrete wall. The man on the left wears a white T-shirt, the man in the middle a button-down, and the man on the right, an unbuttoned shirt, holding a cigarette in his right hand.

Usage Rights:

If you are interested in using an image for a publication, please visit https://umma.umich.edu/request-image/ for more information and to fill out the online Image Rights and Reproductions Request Form.