Three men stand talking on a city sidewalk; two wear coats and hats, one wears a leather jacket. A woman in a checked coat holding newspapers walks past in the background. The scene appears candid and urban.Stephen Shore, from Early Work (MACK, 2025). Courtesy of the artist and MACK.

Stephen Shore is most famous for his instantly recognizable photos of Andy Warhol and his superstars at the Factory in New York, but before that he was a literal child wandering the streets with a camera.

A new book explores how Shore took his camera on the streets of New York from the ages of 13 to 17, capturing the romance and charm of the bustling Big Apple between 1960 and 1965.

Armed with a Leica and rolls of black and white film, Shore picked out distinctive faces from the crowd that look as if they belong in West Side Story.

At the age of six, Shore received a Kodak Darkroom kit, a gift that unearthed a passion and inquisitiveness that would go on to define his entire life. Shore began to develop a unique relationship with the chemical alchemy of the darkroom and to the camera itself: a tool through which he would uncover the characters and complexities of the world around him.

“I don’t remember what was on my mind then,” the now 77-year-old Shore told The Guardian in a recent interview about his early work. “But what I see looking at them now is a kind of formal awareness, which I guess I understood intuitively.”

A young couple sits closely on a park bench, the woman touching the man's face as they talk. A large handbag rests beside them. Nearby, a woman in white sits next to a baby stroller, looking away thoughtfully.Stephen Shore, from Early Work (MACK, 2025). Courtesy of the artist and MACK.
A woman in a dark coat and glasses holds a paper bag while walking through a busy city street filled with people, some in hats and coats; the photo is in black and white.Stephen Shore, from Early Work (MACK, 2025). Courtesy of the artist and MACK.

Shore says he doesn’t recall taking the photos but does remember developing them in a homemade darkroom at his parents’ apartment on Manhattan’s Upper East Side.

“I understood from the beginning that a camera doesn’t point, it frames. I also understood the gap between the world of the photograph and the world we experience – the world of the photograph has to make sense on its own, out of context.”

Three men stand near a pole marked "NO SMOKING." One man faces away, gesturing with his hand on the pole; another leans, looking thoughtful; the third man rests his head on his hand, appearing concerned or pensive.Stephen Shore, from Early Work (MACK, 2025). Courtesy of the artist and MACK. An older woman walks on a city sidewalk, holding a leaf in front of her face, partially covering it. She carries a handbag, and vintage cars and tall buildings line the street in the background.Stephen Shore, from Early Work (MACK, 2025). Courtesy of the artist and MACK A woman wearing a headscarf and trench coat stands in front of a shop window displaying radios and a neon “RADIO” sign. She looks directly at the camera with a serious expression.Stephen Shore, from Early Work (MACK, 2025). Courtesy of the artist and MACK.

Shore’s passion for photography led him to call up the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) which purchased three prints from him and he ultimately became the first living photographer to have a solo exhibition there.

Shore wound up at the Factory, where he spent three years capturing the likes of Edie Sedgwick and The Velvet Underground.

Stephen Shore: Early Work was released on September 1 by MACK.

Image credits: Photographs by Stephen Shore