Series III. Greenwich Village Scenes, 1913-1916, inclusive

Series III holds seventeen photographs taken by Chapman from 1913 to 1916. As an inhabitant of the Village and an advocate of photographing one's everyday scenes, Chapman used his own street, Patchin Place, as a subject, and made other pictures of buildings, places of interest, and residential areas often overlooked because of their normalcy. His framing is often close and intimate. Several of the photographs in this series are of alleys where women hung washing; "Minetta Place" (1914), "Clinton Court" (1915), and four photographs entitled, "Grove Court" (1913-1915) each have washing lines as a focal point. "Milligan Place" (1913), another of his intimate courtyard scenes, was photographed in the daytime with a baby carriage in the foreground, and then again at night in "Milligan Place, Night" (1913). This contrasting is used again with "Patchin Place" (1914) and "Patchin Place, Winter" (1915); the first is of that small alley with children playing, and the second is the same alley with snow on the ground.

Another characteristic of this series is Chapman's use of shadow to create visual interest. Two good examples are "Kelly's Alley" (1915), which is a rooftop scene with dramatic use of shadow, and "9½ Jane Street" (1915). In "Washington Arch" (1915) and "Washington Square" (1915), Chapman used a less intimate view. These images are more sweeping and use Washington Arch as the focal point but include buildings in the background. "Fifth Avenue, looking South from Thirteenth Street"(1916), is also a sweeping view of a snowy and busy city street. "'Diagonals' Christopher Street, from Sixth Avenue El Station" (1915) is perhaps Chapman's best-known image, and was shown at more exhibitions than any other of his photographs. In that picture, the view along Christopher Street is framed by the handrails of the El station stairs, giving it an angular feel.