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.
Peter Hujar, "Diane B. in Jean-Charles de Castelbajac Monkey Dress", 1987
By Peter Hujar
Located in Catonvielle, FR
Peter Hujar (1934-1987), original bromoil silver print titled "Diane B. in Jean-Charles de Castelbajac Monkey Dress", dated 1984, printed in 1987. Signed and...
Paper
1960, Système des tours, Paris, Jean Ribière
By Jean Ribière
Located in Perpignan, FR
Jean Ribière, renowned photographer, was National Vice President of the A.N.J.R.P.C. (National Association of Journalists Reporters Photographers and Filmmakers), whose President was Robert Doisneau and the main members Henri Cartier-Bresson and Raymond Depardon.
Paper
1960, Photography Jean Ribière
By Jean Ribière
Located in Perpignan, FR
Staircase of the futuristic Royan Cathedral, circa 1960 100 x 100 cm / limited and numbered edition n°1/12 Digigraphy print on textured cotton fineart paper 320 gr. Certification: Signed and numbered by hand. Frame: Black wood Colour: Black and white Jean Ribière...
Paper
$4,250
H 10 in W 8 in D 0.2 in
Bruce Weber Original Signed Photographs of Michael Stipe Los Angeles, 1987 Rare
By Bruce Weber
Located in West Hartford, CT
Rare set of original Bruce Weber photographs - not prints. These have provenance on back as detailed in photo suite below. The photos were taken by Mr. Weber in Los Angeles in 1987 a...
Paper
1970 Photography Jean Ribière
By Jean Ribière
Located in Perpignan, FR
Bubbles of the metro architect André Wogenscky Paris, circa 1970. 100 x 100 cm / limited and numbered edition n°1/12 Digigraphy print on textured cotton fineart paper 320 gr. Certification: Signed and numbered by hand. Frame: Black wood Color: Black and white Jean Ribière...
Paper
$473Sale Price|20% Off
H 35.04 in W 25.2 in D 0.2 in
GIANNI VERSACE Poster created by Mimmo Rotella for Mostra Dialogue du Mode, 1987
By Mimmo Rotella, Gianni Versace
Located in Milano, IT
Rara Locandina by Gianni Versace created by Mimmo Rotella for the exhibition held at the Palais Galliera, Musèe de la Mode et du Costume, in Paris. 198...
Paper
1970 Photography Jean Ribière
By Jean Ribière
Located in Perpignan, FR
Staircase of the "Fada" Le Corbusier Marseille - Cité Radieuse, circa 1970. 100 x 100 cm / limited and numbered edition n°1/12 Digigraphy pr...
Paper
1970, Photography Jean Ribière
By Jean Ribière
Located in Perpignan, FR
Aillaud Nanterre towers, circa 1970. Measures: 100 x 100 cm / limited and numbered edition n°1/12 Digigraphy print on textured cotton Fine Art paper 320 gr. Certification: Signed and numbered by hand. Frame: Black wood Color: Black and white Jean Ribière Biography: Jean Ribière, a renowned photographer, was national vice-president of the ANJRPC (National Association of Journalists, Reporters, Photographers and Filmmakers), whose president was Robert Doisneau and whose main members were Henri Cartier - Bresson and Raymond Depardon. On his death in 1989, he bequeathed to his daughter, Hélène Tabes, 120,000 photographic documents (90,000 black - and - white negatives, 30,000 slides and about 2,000 prints), as well as 150 texts of documentary reports on the period 1941 - 1989. Born in Niort on 9 February 1922, Jean Ribière began his career in the photo department of the newspaper L'Indépendant des Pyrénées Orientales in 1940. In 1944, he married Micheline Vialle, also a journalist. Jean, an excellent photographer and Micheline, a great reporter, decided to create their own press agency "Ribière Presse Photo". They soon sold their reports to more than a hundred French and foreign newspapers and magazines: L'Express, l'Aurore, Match, BBC London ... Gallery Clement Cividino...
Paper
1970 Photography Jean Ribière
By Jean Ribière
Located in Perpignan, FR
Stairs of the sands Port - Barcares, circa 1970. 100 x 100 cm / limited and numbered edition n°1/12 Digigraphy print on textured cotton fineart paper 320 gr. Certification: Signed and numbered by hand. Frame: Black wood Color: Black and white Jean Ribière...
Paper
1970 Photography Jean Ribière
By Jean Ribière
Located in Perpignan, FR
Façade of the "honeycomb" building in Chamonix, circa 1970. 100 x 100 cm / limited and numbered edition n°1/12 Digigraphy print on textured cotton fineart paper 320 gr. Certification: Signed and numbered by hand. Frame: Black wood Color: Black and white Jean Ribière...
Paper
Vintage Photograph of Robert Mapplethorpe, 1987, NYC
By Jeannette Montgomery Barron
Located in Brooklyn, NY
Original vintage photograph taken by Jeannette Montgomery Barron of American photographer Robert Mapplethorpe in NYC, 1987. Vintage gelatin silver print. Framed. Image: 13 × 13 in...
Other
1970, Photography Jean Ribière
By Jean Ribière
Located in Perpignan, FR
Bubbles Bora Bora Port - Barcares, circa 1970 100 x 100 cm / limited and numbered edition n°1/12 Digigraphy print on textured cotton fineart paper 320 gr. Certification: Signed and numbered by hand. Frame: Black wood Color: Black and white Jean Ribière Biography: Jean Ribière, a renowned photographer, was national vice-president of the ANJRPC (National Association of Journalists, Reporters, Photographers and Filmmakers), whose president was Robert Doisneau and whose main members were Henri Cartier - Bresson and Raymond Depardon. On his death in 1989, he bequeathed to his daughter, Hélène Tabes, 120,000 photographic documents (90,000 black - and - white negatives, 30,000 slides and about 2,000 prints), as well as 150 texts of documentary reports on the period 1941 - 1989. Born in Niort on 9 February 1922, Jean Ribière began his career in the photo department of the newspaper L'Indépendant des Pyrénées Orientales in 1940. In 1944, he married Micheline Vialle, also a journalist. Jean, an excellent photographer and Micheline, a great reporter, decided to create their own press agency "Ribière Presse Photo". They soon sold their reports to more than a hundred French and foreign newspapers and magazines: L'Express, l'Aurore, Match, BBC London ... Gallery Clement Cividino...
Paper
1970, Photography Jean Ribière
By Jean Ribière
Located in Perpignan, FR
Modern towers, architect Georges Maillols Rennes, circa 1970. Measures: 100 x 100 cm / limited and numbered edition n°1/12 Digigraphy print on textured cotton Fine Art paper 320 gr. Certification: Signed and numbered by hand. Frame: Black wood Color: Black and white Jean Ribière...
Paper