Photographer Dustin Pittman Was Never a Fly on the Wall

The photographer Dustin Pittman is no wallflower. From Andy Warhol’s Factory to the women’s liberation movements of the 1970s, Pittman was on the ground with his camera, capturing it all. A new book, Dustin Pittman: New York After Dark, co-written by Mauricio Padilha and Roger Padilha, features 270 pages of Pittman’s photographic archive, with images from the late ’60s-’90s numbering in the hundred-thousands. Accompanied by firsthand anecdotes and memories by Pittman himself, the tome is also a true love letter to New York—its people, places, protests, and parties.

Pittman, who grew up in the Adirondack Mountains, first fell in love with photography at the mall, where he would devour fashion and music magazines as a kid. After completing a production job on the set of The Sterile Cuckoo starring Liza Minnelli, Pittman moved to New York City in February 1969, where he later enrolled at the School of Visual Arts for film and photography. The young artist fit right in, as though he was always a city kid. If a culturally significant event was happening, Pittman was there to shoot it.

The vast majority of New York After Dark is comprised of previously unpublished images of the most iconic names of the late 20th century, with whom Pittman created lasting friendships: photos of David Bowie, Diana Ross, and Grace Jones shine through his over 50-year portfolio. The photographer caught many spontaneous, unguarded New York moments, like model Pat Cleveland and fashion icon André Leon Talley getting down on the dance floor; or a shy, pre-Blondie Debbie Harry. Through his images, one can also see Pittman’s involvement in various movements for women’s, LGBTQIA+, and minorities’s rights.

Pittman was not just a spectator with a camera—he was an active participant in the scenes he captured. And every image in this book will have wishing you were there. Keep scrolling for a sneak peek at Dustin Pittman: New York After Dark, available now from Rizzoli.