Bill Cunningham: Before Instagram
Before Instagram, there was Bill Cunningham. Everyone in New York knew the fashion photographer who was riding his bicycle across Manhattan’s streets, was present in the fashion shows and in the stylish events, seeking for the best, most interesting, most cutting-edge dressed people. His column with the candid street photography in the New York Times was one of the most anticipated events of every weekend. Cunningham was to New York like Time Square, like Central Park. An icon.
Now, that the $1 million archives were acquired by the New York Historical Society, the tens of thousands images, dating from the late 1960s through the 2010’s will be available for scholars and will form an in-depth exhibition celebrating Cunningham’s career and featuring the archive in the Museum’s collection.
Cunningham moved to New York in 1948, initially working in advertising and soon 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. His ‘Evening Hours,’ the popular New York Times photographs documenting the city’s charitable galas and philanthropic events is particularly memorable.
The Archive joins a significant collection of Cunningham’s personal belongings that are part of The New York Historical Society’s collection, including the bicycle that he rode around the city; his first camera, an Olympus Pen-D, 35mm; his signature blue jacket; and a New York City street sign, “Bill Cunningham Corner,” that was temporarily installed at 5th Avenue and 57th Street in his honor, following his death.
This is a great New York event, celebrating the man who ‘devoted his life to capturing the spirit and beauty of individuals, fashion, and of course New York,’ in the words of his niece.
Images © Bill Cunningham
