100 Heroes: Peter Hujar
The gay man who became an iconic photographer.
Peter Hujar was born in 1934, in Trenton, New Jersey. His mother relocated him to New York when she remarried but Hujar left home at 16 to live independently.
He studied photography at the School of Industrial Art.
In the 1960s, besides making his own work, he performed for Andy Warhol in the ‘Screen Tests’ series of films.
He became an artist-activist as part of the gay liberation movement. He was one of the photographers that documented the first gay liberation march - held on 28 June, 1970.
Around this time, Hujar took an iconic photo that was used as a poster for the Gay Liberation Front.
Photo by Peter Hujar
Hujar began exhibiting his work in the 1970s and shot the likes of Allen Ginsburg, William Burroughs, John Waters and Divine. He also produced homoerotic work and often shot candid portraits of friends.
During his lifetime, Hujar’s work received little recognition but he is now regarded as one of the foremost US photographers of the 20th century.
Significant relationships included Paul Thek, Jim Fouratt, and David Wojnarowicz.
He died in 1987 at the age of 53. The cause of death was AIDS-related illness.
