City Life Org – Famed New York Times Photographer Bill Cunningham’s Archive to Have Everlasting Residence with The New York Historical

Bill Cunningham (1929-2016), Municipal Building, constructed 1914. Photograph. The New York Historical, Patricia D. Klingenstein Library

The New York Historical has immediately introduced that it has acquired Bill Cunningham’s archive, which incorporates images, negatives, slides, contact sheets, prints, correspondence, and ephemera of the enduring trend photographer—tens of 1000’s of photos in whole. One of the late twentieth century’s most influential trend-spotters and elegance authorities, the legendary New York Times journalist and photographer was continuously spied on the town’s streets, at trend reveals, and at elegant soirées capturing photos of New York’s trend innovators and cultural glitterati. Included within the archive are On the Street images courting again to the Nineteen Seventies and 80s, three a long time of Met Gala images, depictions of trend reveals in New York and Paris, and customized notebooks.

“We are thrilled to have been chosen as the permanent home for the Bill Cunningham Archive, and grateful to Bill’s niece, Patricia Simonson, as well as to New York Historical Trustee Sally Klingenstein Martell, who championed the effort on the part of our board,” stated Louise Mirrer, president and CEO, The New York Historical. “Bill, who famously turned fashion photography into cultural anthropology, is unique among American chroniclers of social life in New York. Preserving the Bill Cunningham archive at The New York Historical is particularly fitting, and meaningful, as his relationship with the institution stretches back to his early career as a milliner, when he carried out his research in our Patricia D. Klingenstein Library. Above all, preserving Bill’s extraordinary work in our Patricia D. Klingenstein Library will benefit future generations of researchers and scholars seeking to understand our city’s history.”

His niece Patricia Simonson, who has cared for his property, stated: “My uncle devoted his life to capturing the spirit and beauty of individuals, fashion, and of course New York—and there is no more appropriate place for his collect than The New York Historical—right on Central Park West in Manhattan, where much of his work took place.”

The Historical is ready to look after this assortment due to a beneficiant present from trustee Sally Klingenstein Martell, who shared: “Bill Cunningham’s work is a definitive record of New York style, both high and low. How fitting, then, that his archive will now be permanently housed at The New York Historical, an institution devoted to preserving the city’s vibrant past. Here, this priceless collection will be accessible to the public for generations to come.”

Bill Cunningham (1929-2016) was a trend photographer for the New York Times, recognized for his candid avenue pictures. Cunningham moved to New York in 1948, initially working in promoting and shortly putting out on his personal to make hats beneath the title “William J.” After serving a tour within the US Army, he returned to New York and commenced writing for the Chicago Tribune. While working on the Tribune and Women’s Wear Daily, he started taking images of trend on the streets of New York. The Times first revealed a gaggle of his impromptu photos in December 1978, which quickly turned a daily sequence.

The Bill Cunningham Archive consists of roughly 600 linear ft of things, the vast majority of that are images spanning from the late Nineteen Sixties to the 2010s. The topics vary from on the road trend, events (like one at Studio 54 from 1979), weddings, galas, and advantages. Notebooks from Paris within the Nineteen Sixties embody sketches and present notes. There are additionally paperwork associated to his millinery efforts, the William J. Collection, together with receipts and textile swatches in addition to scrapbooks and information clips.

The Archive joins a major assortment of Cunningham’s private belongings which might be a part of The New York Historical’s assortment, together with the bicycle that he rode across the metropolis; his first digicam, an Olympus Pen-D, 35mm; his signature blue jacket; and a New York City avenue signal, “Bill Cunningham Corner,” that was briefly put in at fifth Avenue and 57th Street in his honor, following his demise. Hats and scrapbooks from his millinery line, William J. are additionally a part of the gathering, together with alternatives from Facades, his eight-year photographic challenge documenting New York City’s architectural and trend historical past, which was on view at The New York Historical in 2014.

An in-depth exhibition celebrating Cunningham’s profession and that includes the archive and Museum assortment is within the works and shall be on show at a future date. 

The New York Historical’s Patricia D. Klingenstein Library is among the oldest and most distinguished analysis libraries on the planet, containing tens of millions of books, pamphlets, maps, atlases, newspapers, broadsides, music sheets, manuscripts, prints, images, and architectural drawings. It is house to the Robert A. Caro Archive, the Billie Jean King Archive, and the Time Inc. Archive, amongst others. 

About The New York Historical
New York’s first museum, The New York Historical is a number one cultural establishment masking over 400 years of American historical past. Our choices span groundbreaking exhibitions; peerless collections of artwork, paperwork, and artifacts; acclaimed academic applications for academics and college students nationwide; and thought-provoking conversations amongst main students, journalists, and thinkers concerning the previous, current, and way forward for the American experiment. The New York Historical is a museum of museums and a group of collections. We are house to the Patricia D. Klingenstein Library, the Center for Women’s History, the DiMenna Children’s History Museum, and the long run American LGBTQ+ Museum. We elevate the views and scholarship that outline the United States’ democratic heritage and problem us all to form our ongoing historical past for the higher. Connect with us at nyhistory.org or at @nyhistory on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, and Tumblr.