Photographer Bill Cunningham’s Archive Acquired by The New York Historical

The New York Historical has acquired fashion photographer Bill Cunningham’s archive of tens of thousands of images including photographs, negatives, slides, contact sheets, prints, correspondence, and ephemera.

One of the late 20th century’s most influential trend-spotters and style authorities, the New York Times journalist and photographer was frequently seen on the city’s streets, at fashion shows, and at elegant soirées capturing images of New York’s fashion innovators and cultural glitterati. Included in the archive are On the Street photographs dating back to the 1970s and 80s, three decades of Met Gala photographs, depictions of fashion shows in New York and Paris, and personalized notebooks.

“Bill famously turned fashion photography into cultural anthropology," said Louise Mirrer, president and CEO, The New York Historical. "He 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.”

Cunningham (1929-2016) was a fashion photographer for the New York Times, known for his candid street photography. He moved to New York in 1948, initially working in advertising and then striking out on his own to make hats under the name 'William J'. After serving a tour in the US Army, he returned to New York and began writing for the Chicago Tribune. While working at the Tribune and Women’s Wear Daily, he began taking photographs of fashion on the streets of New York. The Times first published a group of his impromptu pictures in December 1978, which soon became a regular series.

The majority of the archive are photographs from the late 1960s to the 2010s. The subjects range from street fashion, parties (including one at Studio 54 in 1979), weddings, galas, and benefits. Notebooks from Paris in the 1960s include sketches and show notes. There are also documents related to his millinery efforts, the William J. Collection, including receipts and textile swatches as well as scrapbooks and news clips.

The Archive joins a significant collection of Cunningham’s personal belongings that are part of The New York Historical’s collection, including the bicycle that he rode around the city, his first camera (an Olympus Pen-D, 35mm), and his signature blue jacket. Hats and scrapbooks from his millinery line, William J. are also part of the collection, along with selections from Facades, his eight-year photographic project documenting New York City’s architectural and fashion history, which was on view at The New York Historical in 2014.

An in-depth exhibition celebrating Cunningham’s career and featuring the archive and Museum collection is in the works and will be on display at a future date.