Triumph

An independent and a misfit, Peter Hujar was a central figure in New York City's East Village art scene during the 1970s and 1980s. He was a resolute formalist operating in the bohemian circle of Andy Warhol and became best known for portraits of drag queens and cultural personalities like theorist Susan Sontag and artist David Wojnarowicz. Beyond portraits Hujar captured velvety nocturnes of New York in photographs of derelict buildings, cobblestoned intersections, parking lots, and empty alleys, all composed as if the viewer is lurking in the shadows. Triumph, for example, was likely shot from a threshold, a semiprivate urban space hinting at anonymity, quiet observation, and erotic possibilities.