Peter Hujar demonstrated the same fearlessness in his photography as he did in life. He documented his bohemian lifestyle in New York City in black and white portraits that captured his outsider circle of friends and lovers. Like Robert Mapplethorpe, Nan Goldin and others, Hujar’s work emerged as a particularly crucial vehicle for increasing lesbian and gay visibility. His photography was integral to the fight for LGBTQ rights during the 1960s but he didn't earn wider societal recognition until after his passing.
Hujar was born in Trenton, New Jersey, in 1934. Due to a difficult home life, he was navigating the streets of New York City on his own by the time he was 16 years old. Pursuing photography from a young age, Hujar attended the New York High School of Art and Design in 1953. At the same time, he apprenticed in commercial photography studios. By 1964, he was working as a chief assistant for photographer Harold Krieger.
At his own considerable financial expense, Hujar left the world of commercial photography in 1967 and decided to use his talents to support the burgeoning LGBTQ rights movement. He was present at the Stonewall riots in 1969, and his iconic photo Come out! was featured in a 1970 poster for the Gay Liberation Front. Hujar also took intimate photos of counterculture figures in Manhattan throughout the 1970s, from partying drag queens to queer intellectuals. Some of his most famous images were of his friend and lover David Wojnarowicz.
In the early 1980s, Hujar stepped into a mentor role to up-and-coming artists like Gary Schneider, Nan Goldin and Kiki Smith. While he felt that his own work was underappreciated, he was happy to champion the work of the next generation.
Hujar passed away from AIDS-related pneumonia in 1987 in New York City. His work was posthumously celebrated, and his first retrospective was held in 1994 at the Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam.
Hujar's photographs have since been exhibited all over the United States and Europe. In 2020, Pace Gallery held an online exhibit called “Peter Hujar: Cruising Utopia,” which featured a selection of both his famous and lesser-known works.
Find original Peter Hujar photography on 1stDibs.
Wreck with Shattered Window
By Peter Hujar
Located in New York, NY
This early print of this image was made in 1980. It is titled, signed and stamped on verso, by the Executor of the Hujar Estate.
Silver Gelatin
Ted Higby at Skyline Rodeo, 1928
By Lora Webb Nichols
Located in New York, NY
Listing includes framing with UV plexiglas, free shipping and a 14 day return policy. Ted Higby at Skyline Rodeo, 1928 15 x 12 inch gelatin silver print Image Size: 14 x 8.5 inches Frame size: 22.5 x 17.5 x 2 inches Edition of 15 Lora Webb Nichols was born in 1883 and grew up in the small mining town of Encampment, Wyoming. At the age of 16 Lora received her first camera and from that moment and for the next few decades she produced work that is both stunning in its singular voice and revealing in the world it opens up for us. At first Nichols photographed her family, friends, and the landscape around Encampment, but when the town experienced a copper mining boom Nichols expanded her scope to become a photographer for hire shooting portraits and industrial photographs. When the boom collapsed, Nichols took the risk of opening her own business in Encampment - The Rocky Mountain Studio - which opened in 1925. The studio ran for ten years, accumulating 24,000 negatives that illustrate the lives and environment of the people living in and around the town while creating a distinctive and surprising body of work. If one was to attempt an analogy – Nichols’ pictures fit somewhere between Lartigue and Lange - joyful and generous while objectively intimate. In particular what seems to distinguish Nichols’ work is the way she sees the world from a female perspective. As Vince Aletti...
Silver Gelatin
Untitled Portrait
By Seydou Keïta
Located in New York, NY
Listing includes framing with UV Plexi ($900 value), free shipping, and a 14-day return policy. Seydou Keïta Untitled Portrait, 1952 - 1955 (02158) 23...
Photographic Film, Photographic Paper, Silver Gelatin
$4,737
H 30 in W 20 in
Catherine Zeta-Jones (Limited Edition of 25) - Celebrity Photography
By John Stoddart 1
Located in New York, NY
This 1991 fine art print features Catherine Zeta-Jones when she was a TV actress in Britain and aspiring to be a Hollywood Star. Her success in The Darling Buds of May (English comed...
Silver Gelatin
Jeffrey Cook
By George Dureau
Located in New Orleans, LA
George Valentine Dureau (1930 - 2014) was active/lived in Louisiana. George Dureau is known for Male nude figure, genre, portrait.
Silver Gelatin
$2,030
H 9 in W 30 in
The Rolling Stones (Limited Edition of 25) - Celebrity Photography
By John Stoddart 1
Located in New York, NY
The Rolling Stones, a 1989 black and white stitched photograph shot for their "Steel Wheels " world tour, starring Keith Richards, Mick Jagger, Bill Wyman and Ronnie Wood. This Photo...
Silver Gelatin
$5,414
H 30 in W 40 in
Daniel Craig Contact Sheet (Limited Edition of 25) - 30x40 In Celebrity Print
By John Stoddart 1
Located in New York, NY
This is a 2002 contact sheet (a positive print of all the negative images from a roll of 35mm film or medium format film) of youthful-looking Daniel Craig...
Silver Gelatin
$8,121
H 30 in W 40 in
The Swan, With Leda (Limited Edition of 25) - 30x40 In Fine Art Print
By John Stoddart 1
Located in New York, NY
This 2009 photograph by legend photographer, John Stoddart depicts “The Swan with Leda.” It was inspired from the mythology of the Greek story of Leda and the Swan, when the God Zeus...
Silver Gelatin
Emmitt Johnson
By George Dureau
Located in New Orleans, LA
George Valentine Dureau (1930 - 2014) was active/lived in Louisiana. George Dureau is known for Male nude figure, genre, portrait.
Silver Gelatin
untitled
By Susannah Slocum
Located in New York, NY
Untitled gelatin silver print from the artist's early street photography. Signed and numbered (2 from an edition of 6) verso.
Photographic Paper, Black and White, Silver Gelatin
untitled
By Susannah Slocum
Located in New York, NY
Untitled gelatin silver print from the artist's early street photography. Signed and numbered (2 from an edition of 4) verso.
Photographic Paper, Black and White, Silver Gelatin
Lovers 4
By Ormond Gigli
Located in Lenox, MA
Ormond Gigli Lovers 4 Gelatin Silver Print 17.5" x 20.5" Unique: $2500 Provenance: Printed by the artist, from the artist's studio Signature: Signed en verso Additional: All 4 "Love...
Silver Gelatin
Old Woman, Portugal, Nazare
By Ormond Gigli
Located in Lenox, MA
Ormond Gigli Old Woman, Portugal, Nazare (1952) Vintage Gelatin Silver Print Printed by Artist 27.25 x 23.25 Unique: $4900 Signature: Signed en verso Prove...
Silver Gelatin
New York: Sixth Avenue
By Peter Hujar
Located in New York, NY
This black and white photograph by Peter Hujar depicts a series of large skyscrapers in midtown Manhattan. New York: Sixth Avenue 1976 Signed in ink, verso Gelatin silver print 2...
Silver Gelatin
Clown’s Trunk (Ringling Brothers, Barnum and Bailey Circus)
By Peter Hujar
Located in New York, NY
Clown’s Trunk (Ringling Brothers, Barnum and Bailey Circus) 1973 Signed, verso Vintage gelatin silver print 18.75 x 16 inches, sheet 15.25 x 15.37...
Silver Gelatin
Hallway–Canal Street Pier
By Peter Hujar
Located in New York, NY
Hallway–Canal Street Pier 1983 Estate stamped in black ink, verso; also signed, titled, dated by estate in graphite, verso Vintage gelatin silver print ...
Silver Gelatin
Reggie's Dog: Bouche Walker
By Peter Hujar
Located in New York, NY
Peter Hujar Reggie's Dog: Bouche Walker, 1981 Gelatin silver print 14 3/4 x 14 3/4 inches (image) 19 3/4 x 16 inches (sheet) 22 3/4 x 22 3/4 inches (frame) Stamped by the artist's es...
Silver Gelatin
Portrait of Poet Anne Waldman
By Peter Hujar
Located in New York, NY
Vintage gelatin silver print Signed in black ink, l.r. 20 x 16 inches, sheet 15 x 15 inches, image This photograph is offered by ClampArt, located in New York City.
Silver Gelatin
David Wojnarowicz’s Wall Drawing at Pier 34
By Peter Hujar
Located in New York, NY
Vintage gelatin silver print Signed, verso Artist's studio stamp, verso This photograph is offered by ClampArt, located in New York City. This is an image of the “Pier 34” show. Guerrilla art shows that took place in unused City of NY buildings such as the “Real Estate Show,” or the “Times Square Show” that was held in an abandoned massage parlor, are examples of art collectives creating alternatives to the staid, exclusionary spaces of museums and galleries. They took the concept a step further with shows that were intentionally disposable, often leaving the artwork behind to be destroyed with the condemned buildings. The “Pier 34” show, organized by David Wojnarowicz and Mike Bidlo...
Silver Gelatin