Momber a photographer born in Berlin in 1943, came to New York in the mid 1960s and originally worked in fashion photography. The first time she saw the art and grime of the Lower East Side, she knew she was home. I got on my bike and went back and took my first photo. That was it. That was the end and the beginning of Marlis Momber, fashion photographer becoming a documentary photographer.
I came out of LaGuardia at the time, came over the Williamsburg Bridge, down Delancey Street. There was this mural, this most beautiful mural…I [went back to my studio] got on my bike and went back and took my first photo. That was it. That was the end and the beginning of Marlis Momber, fashion photographer becoming a documentary photographer.
From her apartment in a homesteaded building on East 4th Street Momber has documented the neighborhood’s vibrant street life, social activism and groundbreaking artistic innovations for the last 45+ years.
This auction is to raise funds to support her and honor her contribution to the neighborhood.