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 cap
James Prigoff, Who Documented Street Art, Dies at 93
In thousands of pictures, Mr. Prigoff captured the often ephemeral but complex works that were once dismissed as vandalism.
James Prigoff at the opening of the Museum of Graffiti in Miami in 2019. “‘Vandalism’ may be a matter of point of view,” he once said of the street art he photographed, “but it is clearly art.”Credit.Frazer Harrison/Getty Images
Published May 1, 2021Updated May 5, 2021
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 on April 21 at his home in Sacramento, Calif. He was 93.