Peter Hujar

photographer

American^[1] b. 1934^[1] d. 1987^[1,2] active 1963–1987

Peter Hujar (1934–1987) was an American photographer known for his intimate and psychologically probing portraits of the avant-garde scene in downtown New York during the 1970s. His work often captured cultural icons such as Susan Sontag, Fran Lebowitz, and John Waters with a unique blend of vulnerability and haunting beauty. In addition to his portraiture, Hujar is noted for his series of photographs of skeletons in the catacombs of Palermo, Sicily, which he traveled to in 1963. His only monograph published during his lifetime, 'Portraits in Life and Death' (1976), remains a classic of contemporary photography, juxtaposing these stark images of mortality with portraits of living creators.^[1,2,3]

• Portraiture
• Mortality
• Avant-garde culture
• LGBTQ+ identity