Hujar:Contact explores the Morgan Library & Museum’s extensive archive of original contact sheets and job books made by the beloved photographer Peter Hujar between 1954 and 1986, which come together to form an enthralling visual document of the artist’s creative process. Hujar’s empathetic eye focused in on varying subjects – crowds of protest, damaged relics, farm animals – but above all he was preoccupied with making portraits of the overlapping circles of artists, writers, and underground luminaries he moved within in New York. Accompanying critical texts by Joel Smith establish a chronology of Hujar’s contact sheets, presenting an artist developing, experimenting with, and refining his practice against the tumultuous cultural politics and sea changes of gay life conveyed by the words ‘Stonewall’ and ‘AIDS’.

Throughout his career Hujar recorded more than a thousand photo shoots in his job books. These documents, transcribed and annotated by Olivia McCall, illuminate the contact sheets, rich in never-before-seen images as well as the earliest iterations of Hujar’s most iconic works, including portraits of Susan Sontag, David Wojnarowicz, Candy Darling, Gary Indiana, Fran Lebowitz, and Paul Thek. This volume provides captivating insight into a master at work, forming an immersive chronicle of Hujar’s poignant efforts to connect, through photography, with the creative communities that defined his life, outlook, and art.

Co-published with the Morgan Library & Museum, New York, on the occasion of the exhibition ‘Hujar:Contact’, on show from 22 May–25 October 2026 

- MACK

• 364 pages
• 110+ complete contact sheets
• 20 enlargements
• Images spanning 1954–1986
• Original editing marks and selections preserved
• Never-before-seen archival material
• Portraits, street photography, and artist communities
• A rare look into Peter Hujar's editing process and photographic decision-making
• Essential viewing for anyone interested in contact sheets, sequencing, and how great photographs are discovered rather than simply made.

Contact reminds us that photography happens long before the final scan, print, or Instagram post. By revealing the contact sheets behind memorable images, the book shows that great photographs are often the result of patience, persistence, and careful editing. It's a celebration of process—and a powerful argument for paying attention to every frame, not just the keeper.