James Prigoff, who documented street art, dies at 93
Prigoff was the author, with Henry Chalfant, of Spraycan Art (1987).
by Neil Genzlinger
(NYT NEWS SERVICE)
.- James Prigoff, who after beginning his career in business turned his attention to photography, documenting public murals and street art in thousands of pictures taken all over the world and helping to legitimize works once dismissed as vandalism, died April 21 at his home in Sacramento, California. He was 93.
His granddaughter Perri Prigoff confirmed his death.
Prigoff was the author, with Henry Chalfant, of Spraycan Art (1987), a foundational book in the street-art field that featured more than 200 photographs of colorful, intricate artworks in rail tunnels, on buildings and elsewhere not only in New York, then considered by many to be the epicenter of graffiti art, but also in Chicago, Los Angeles, Barcelona, London, Vienna and other cities. It included interviews with many of the artists and even captured some of them in the act of creating their work.