Exhibition poster for "Peter Hujar: Photographs," A. Robert Samuel Gallery, New York, November 18 to December 19, 1981, reproducing his portrait of the young Chloe Finch seated on a draped sofa, signed by Hujar and by Finch in the lower margin. Loose and unframed. Fair; creases and tears. 17.75 x 23.75 inches; 45.1 x 60.3 cm.
Provenance: The Arthur J. Williams Collection. Literature: Scalo, Peter Hujar, cover and pl. 160.
Peter Hujar is remembered for his spare, emotive black-and-white photographs of celebrities, leather daddies, farm animals, and anonymous men captured mid-orgasm. A revered figure in the downtown New York creative scene from the 1960s until his 1987 death to AIDS-related illness, Hujar shot in well-lit studios, darkened catacombs, bedrooms, gardens, and hospitals. His frames embraced elements of technical precision: skilled framing, exquisite tonalities, and significant texture. The artist’s most famous subjects included Susan Sontag, Fran Lebowitz, Louise Nevelson, and his long-time partner, fellow artist David Wojnarowicz. Hujar was inspired by Lisette Model’s street photography and by fashion shoots in magazines including GQ and Harper’s Bazaar, for which he eventually shot. A 1967 masterclass with Richard Avedon also proved influential to his career. Hujar’s work has sold for six figures at auction and belongs in the collections of the Art Institute of Chicago, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Whitney Museum of American Art, the Glasgow Gallery of Modern Art, and the Stedelijk Museum, among many others.
Exhibition poster for "Peter Hujar: Photographs," A. Robert Samuel Gallery, New York, November 18 to December 19, 1981, reproducing his portrait of the young Chloe Finch seated on a draped sofa, signed by Hujar and by Finch in the lower margin. Loose and unframed. Fair; creases and tears. 17.75 x 23.75 inches; 45.1 x 60.3 cm.
Provenance: The Arthur J. Williams Collection. Literature: Scalo, Peter Hujar, cover and pl. 160.
Peter Hujar is remembered for his spare, emotive black-and-white photographs of celebrities, leather daddies, farm animals, and anonymous men captured mid-orgasm. A revered figure in the downtown New York creative scene from the 1960s until his 1987 death to AIDS-related illness, Hujar shot in well-lit studios, darkened catacombs, bedrooms, gardens, and hospitals. His frames embraced elements of technical precision: skilled framing, exquisite tonalities, and significant texture. The artist’s most famous subjects included Susan Sontag, Fran Lebowitz, Louise Nevelson, and his long-time partner, fellow artist David Wojnarowicz. Hujar was inspired by Lisette Model’s street photography and by fashion shoots in magazines including GQ and Harper’s Bazaar, for which he eventually shot. A 1967 masterclass with Richard Avedon also proved influential to his career. Hujar’s work has sold for six figures at auction and belongs in the collections of the Art Institute of Chicago, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Whitney Museum of American Art, the Glasgow Gallery of Modern Art, and the Stedelijk Museum, among many others.