Peter Hujar: Piers

Christopher Street Piers were an important site of emerging gay cuture in the 1970s and 80s, and an inspired location for artists, who used the dilapidated structures as canvas or backdrop for their work.

Black-and-white photograph of a derelict interior with a muscular man painted on a wall beyond a doorway

Black-and-white photograph of the view of crumbling walls through four meeting derelict doorways

Black-and-white photograph of three painted panels standing in a derelict tiled bathroom

Black-and-white photograph of a derelict interior with a man painted on the wall

Black-and-white photograph of a derelict interior with comic panels painted on the wall

Peter Hujar: Piers

Peter HujarCanal Street Piers: Painting of Strong Man

1983

gelatin silver print, 14 x 11 inches (sheet) [35.6 x 27.9 cm]

Peter HujarPier – Four Doors

1981

gelatin silver print, 20 x 16 inches (sheet) [50.8 x 40.6 cm]

Peter HujarCanal Street Pier

1983

gelatin silver print, 14 x 11 inches (sheet) [35.6 x 27.9 cm]

Peter HujarCanal Street Piers: Man Painted on a Wall

1983

gelatin silver print, 14 x 11 inches (sheet) [35.6 x 27.9 cm]

Peter HujarCanal Street Piers: Krazy Kat Comic on Wall [by David Wojnarowicz]

1983 / printed later

pigment print, 11 x 14 inches (sheet) [27.9 x 35.6 cm]

Black and white photograph of a seated dog in the artists studio

Peter Hujar: Animals

To Hujar, who grew up on a farm, animals and people were of equal interest. His photographs of dogs, horses, and cows seem to convey a mutual recognition between photographer and subject, a sort of calm acknowledgement.

Black and white photograph of three sheep on hill — Peter Hujar, Sheep, Pennsylvania, 1969 / printed later

pigment print, 20 x 16 inches (sheet) [50.8 x 40.6 cm]

Black-and-white photograph of a seated dog with a wrinkled face and coat — Peter Hujar, Will: Char-Pei (I), 1985 / printed later

pigment print, 20 x 16 inches (sheet) [50.8 x 40.6 cm]

Black-and-white photograph of a dark horse chewing on a wooden fencepost with a pasture in the background — Peter Hujar, Horse, Warwick, R.I., 1979

gelatin silver print, 20 x 16 inches (sheet) [50.8 x 40.6 cm]

A black and white photograph of a older black dog laying down on a light colored blanket, looking off to the side — Peter Hujar, Clarissa Dalrymple’s Dog, Kirsten, 1985

gelatin silver print, 20 x 16 inches (sheet) [50.8 x 40.6 cm]

Peter Hujar, Cat in Snow, Germantown, 1982

gelatin silver print, 20 x 16 inches (sheet) [50.8 x 40.6 cm]

Black and white photograph of a shaggy haired cow outdoors — Peter Hujar, Shaggy Cow (I), 1985

gelatin silver print, 20 x 16 inches (sheet) [50.8 x 40.6 cm]

Black and white photograph of a snake on corner of blanket covered table — Peter Hujar, Skippy (Boa Constrictor), 1985

gelatin silver print, 20 x 16 inches (sheet) [50.8 x 40.6 cm]

Black-and-white photograph of two cows with white faces standing sideways with their heads turned to the viewer — Peter Hujar, Butch and Buster, 1978 / printed later

pigment print, 20 x 16 inches (sheet) [50.8 x 40.6 cm]

Black and white photograph of a seated dog — Peter Hujar, Bouche Walker (Reggie’s Dog), 1981

gelatin silver print, 20 x 16 inches (sheet) [50.8 x 40.6 cm]

Black-and-white photograph of a foal in a harness following its mother's tail — Peter Hujar, Colt with Mother, Italy, 1975

gelatin silver print, 20 x 16 inches (sheet) [50.8 x 40.6 cm]

Peter HujarBeauregard’s Dog Pilar

1983

gelatin silver print, 20 x 16 inches (sheet) [50.8 x 40.6 cm]

Peter HujarSheep, Pennsylvania

1969 / printed later

pigment print, 20 x 16 inches (sheet) [50.8 x 40.6 cm]

Peter HujarWill: Char-Pei (I)

1985 / printed later

pigment print, 20 x 16 inches (sheet) [50.8 x 40.6 cm]

Peter HujarHorse, Warwick, R.I.

1979

gelatin silver print, 20 x 16 inches (sheet) [50.8 x 40.6 cm]

Peter HujarClarissa Dalrymple’s Dog, Kirsten

1985

gelatin silver print, 20 x 16 inches (sheet) [50.8 x 40.6 cm]

Peter HujarCat in Snow, Germantown

1982

gelatin silver print, 20 x 16 inches (sheet) [50.8 x 40.6 cm]

Peter HujarShaggy Cow (I)

1985

gelatin silver print, 20 x 16 inches (sheet) [50.8 x 40.6 cm]

Peter HujarSkippy (Boa Constrictor)

1985

gelatin silver print, 20 x 16 inches (sheet) [50.8 x 40.6 cm]

Peter HujarButch and Buster

1978 / printed later

pigment print, 20 x 16 inches (sheet) [50.8 x 40.6 cm]

Peter HujarBouche Walker (Reggie’s Dog)

1981

gelatin silver print, 20 x 16 inches (sheet) [50.8 x 40.6 cm]

Peter HujarColt with Mother, Italy

1975

gelatin silver print, 20 x 16 inches (sheet) [50.8 x 40.6 cm]

A black and white photograph of two people in a car wearing hats and masks, one leans out of the window with a cigarette in their mouth, the other peers in the same direction from the steering wheel

Peter Hujar: Night

Hujar’s sometimes playful, often bleak photographs of New York after sunset show revelers of the nightlife and a decaying urban landscape, all wrapped in a velvety blackness broken only by street lamps, fluorescent building windows, and the camera’s flash.

Black-and-white photograph of an empty street with marquees and tinsel arches spanning the road — Peter Hujar, San Gennaro Street Fair at Dawn (I), 1976

gelatin-silver print, 20 x 16 inches (sheet) [50.8 x 40.6 cm]

Black-and-white photograph of thin bare trees lit up with a camera flash at night — Peter Hujar, Trees with Flash, New Jersey, 1975

gelatin-silver print, 20 x 16 inches (sheet) [50.8 x 40.6 cm]

Black and white photograph of the exterior of a gas station during early morning hours — Peter Hujar, Exxon Station, 1976

gelatin silver print, 20 x 16 inches (sheet) [50.8 x 40.6 cm]

Black and white photograph of shirtless man dressed in flashy clothes sitting on car — Peter Hujar, Boy in Plastic Pants, 1978 / printed later

pigment print, 20 x 16 inches (sheet)

Black-and-white photograph of city buildings with lighted windows above a glowing street — Peter Hujar, Night, Downtown, 1976 / printed later

pigment print, 20 x 16 inches (sheet) [50.8 x 40.6 cm]

Black-and-white photograph of a shuttered garage door painted with NO PARKING and single car parked in an adjacent driveway on a cobbled street — Peter Hujar, No Parking, 1976 / printed later

pigment print, 20 x 16 inches (sheet) [50.8 x 40.6 cm]

Black and white photograph of a man leaning against a tree in a park at night — Peter Hujar, Gary Schneider in Stuyvesant Park, 1981

gelatin silver print, 20 x 16 inches (sheet) [50.8 x 40.6 cm]

Black-and-white photograph of city buildings lit up from inside standing above a parking lot — Peter Hujar, Night Skyline and Parking Lots, 1976

gelatin silver print, 20 x 16 inches (sheet) [50.8 x 40.6 cm]

Black and white photograph of a person with curly hair, lipstick, and pearl necklace with a lily flower tucked behind one ear — Peter Hujar, Drag Queen With Flower, Halloween, 1980

gelatin-silver print, 20 x 16 inches (sheet) [50.8 x 40.6 cm]

Peter HujarBoys in Car, Halloween

1978 / printed later

pigment print, 20 x 16 inches (sheet) [50.8 x 40.6 cm]

Peter HujarSan Gennaro Street Fair at Dawn (I)

1976

gelatin-silver print, 20 x 16 inches (sheet) [50.8 x 40.6 cm]

Peter HujarTrees with Flash, New Jersey

1975

gelatin-silver print, 20 x 16 inches (sheet) [50.8 x 40.6 cm]

Peter HujarExxon Station

1976

gelatin silver print, 20 x 16 inches (sheet) [50.8 x 40.6 cm]

Peter HujarBoy in Plastic Pants

1978 / printed later

pigment print, 20 x 16 inches (sheet)

Peter HujarNight, Downtown

1976 / printed later

pigment print, 20 x 16 inches (sheet) [50.8 x 40.6 cm]

Peter HujarNo Parking

1976 / printed later

pigment print, 20 x 16 inches (sheet) [50.8 x 40.6 cm]

Peter HujarGary Schneider in Stuyvesant Park

1981

gelatin silver print, 20 x 16 inches (sheet) [50.8 x 40.6 cm]

Peter HujarNight Skyline and Parking Lots

1976

gelatin silver print, 20 x 16 inches (sheet) [50.8 x 40.6 cm]

Peter HujarDrag Queen With Flower, Halloween

1980

gelatin-silver print, 20 x 16 inches (sheet) [50.8 x 40.6 cm]

Black-and-white vertical photograph of a standing man wearing a jock strap.

Peter Hujar: Portraits

The composed portraits of lovers, friends, and artists of New York’s Downtown milieu, often photographed in Hujar’s own loft, capture each sitter in an unrestrained moment of openness and connection.