Wreck with Shattered Window, 1976
Gelatin silver print, printed in 1980 by the artist
20 × 16 in.
Estate stamp with title and date in pencil on verso
March 30, 2026
This photograph's gritty romanticism renders urban dereliction with a darkly glittering sensuality. The scene is charged with danger, but the glass sprayed across the pavement is captured so seductively that it suggests an array of polished diamonds set against black velvet.
Peter Hujar was a key figure in the downtown cultural milieu of 1970s New York, and lived his entire adult life in the East Village. This photograph portrays the desolation of a city that had only just scraped past bankruptcy—an urban crisis that, inadvertently, created an affordable haven for artists. Hujar’s night pictures, taken during nocturnal prowls through near-abandoned neighborhoods, owe a debt to Weegee’s seedy portrayals of the city. Hujar’s vision is distinct though—his picture makes it clear that while the city at night was treacherous, it was also a playground, and a dream world that artists had all to themselves.
