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Jane Hoffer photographs

Call Number

PR 312

Date

1975-2012, 2020, 2022, inclusive

Creator

Hoffer, Jane

Extent

1.5 Linear feet in two boxes.
16.84 Gigabytes (642 digital files)

Language of Materials

The documents in this collection are in English.

Abstract

Photographs, contact sheets, CDs, and photobooks by Jane Hoffer, documenting female members of the New York Police Department (1975–1979); the Boys' Choir of Harlem (1980–1985); celebrities from the fields of activism, the arts, business, education, journalism, and politics (circa 1983–2010); and Willets Point, Queens (2020).

Biographical note

Canada native Jane Hoffer is a New York City-based photographer with more than forty years of freelance experience. Hoffer attended McGill University where she started in painting and ended her graduate career with a dissertation on photographic essays. She received further training at the School of Visual Arts, the New School, the International Center of Photography, and Columbia University, from which she holds an advanced degree in art. Hoffer's primary professional work has been for non-profit organizations, including the Boys' Choir of Harlem and Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts. In addition to her commercial work, Hoffer has pursued many artistic projects that have been exhibited throughout the city in both group and solo shows. She is currently a member of Professional Women Photographers, the West Side Artists Coalition, and the National Association of Photoshop Professionals. For further information visit the photographer's website: www.janehoffer.com.

Arrangement

The collection is organized in four series:

Series I. "On the Beat," 1975-1979, 2011-2012
Series II. "Boys' Choir of Harlem," 1980-1985, 2011
Series III. "Celebrity," circa 1983-2010
Series IV. "Willet's Point, Queens," 2020

Scope and Contents

The photographs in this collection stem from four distinct documentation projects by Jane Hoffer: "On the Beat" (1975–1979); "Boys' Choir of Harlem" (1980–1985); "Celebrity" (circa 1983–2010); and "Willet's Point" (2020).

"On the Beat" (1975–1979) documents some of the first women police officers out on patrol in New York City. President Lyndon Johnson's Crime Commission in 1967 recommended sweeping changes to law enforcement training and hiring practices and called for "new kinds of people" in police forces: college graduates, women, minorities, and skilled civilians. More and more women became patrol officers and moved into supervisory positions like station supervisor and detective. Further studies, like the Kerner Commission's 1968 "Report of the National Advisory Commission on Civil Disorders," and psychologist and Ford Foundation director Catherine Miller's 1972 study, "Women in Policing," contributed to the changing attitude toward women stepping out from behind the desk to take on more active policing duties. Policewomen faced fierce resistance from people outside their departments, as well as resentment from their fellow officers.

Hoffer began the project in the 1970s. She was then teaching photography at John Jay College of Criminal Justice, and the photography collective to which she belonged, Women Photographers of New York, began a series of projects on working women. A colleague introduced her to Sergeant Joan Pearson, who then acquainted her with other female officers who were willing to be interviewed and photographed. Fascinated by the emerging roles of women in police work, Hoffer photographed officers, sergeants, and auxiliaries in precinct houses, their patrol cars, and at the firing range. She also conducted extensive interviews of her subjects. The process continued for four years.

The photographs were exhibited at the SoHo Photo Gallery (1980), the Wall Gallery at the John Jay College of Criminal Justice (1989), and the New York City Police Museum (2011), where the exhibit was called "On the Beat 1975–1979: Women in the NYPD." The work was also issued as a self-published photobook, On the Beat 1975–1979, which contains selections from the interviews as well as photographs.

An impromptu request to shoot a Boys' Choir of Harlem concert led to Hoffer's first professional job: photographing the choir at venues around New York City (Carnegie Hall, City College, Gracie Mansion, and Liberty Island), throughout the United States, and on a trip to Jamaica. Hoffer also accompanied the choir to its summer camp in Kent, Connecticut, where she captured the singers rehearsing, studying, fishing, and swimming. In 2011 Hoffer issued her images in a self-published photobook, The Boys' Choir of Harlem 1980–1985. The Boys' Choir of Harlem was founded in 1968 by Dr. Walter Turnbull (1944–2007). The group folded shortly after its final performance in 2007.

The photographs in Jane Hoffer's self-published Celebrity were taken between about 1983 and 2010 at New York City locations such as the Apollo Theater, Columbia University, the New York Academy of Science, Hunter College, Radio City Music Hall, and the City College of New York. Hoffer's subjects include activists, artists, authors, photographers, businessmen, philanthropists, scientists, educators, journalists, performers, actors, dancers, directors, musicians, political figures, and religious leaders, all of whom are identified in the container list, below (Series III, Box 1, Folder 29).

Jane Hoffer's website provides the following statement regarding her Willets Point photographs: "Since the 1930's, Willet's Point has been the home for a community of automotive businesses that service, repair and salvage vehicles. The area has been scheduled for gentrification and garages have been reduced to about half the original number. Despite the deplorable neglect of the neighborhood - no street lights or sewers, potholes, mud and water everywhere - there is no shortage of customers who drive there in droves knowing that the work force is skilled and the parts they need will definitely be available."

Access Restrictions

For more information on making arrangements to consult the boxed photographic prints, please visit www.nyhistory.org/library/visit.

Digital files can be made available online for viewing only. To arrange to receive a link to the desired digital files, contact reference@nyhistory.org.

Use Restrictions

Taking images of documents from the library collections for reference purposes by using hand-held cameras and in accordance with the library's photography guidelines is encouraged. As an alternative, patrons may request up to 20 images per day from staff.

Application to use images from this collection for publication should be made in writing to: Department of Rights and Reproductions, The New-York Historical Society, 170 Central Park West, New York, NY 10024-5194, rightsandrepro@nyhistory.org. Phone: (212) 873-3400 ext. 282.

Copyrights and other proprietary rights may subsist in individuals and entities other than the New-York Historical Society, in which case the patron is responsible for securing permission from those parties. For fuller information about rights and reproductions from N-YHS visit: https://www.nyhistory.org/about/rights-reproductions

Preferred Citation

This collection should be cited as: "Jane Hoffer Photographs, PR-312, Department of Prints, Photographs, and Architectural Collections, New-York Historical Society."

Location of Materials

For more information on making arrangements to consult the boxed photographic prints, please visit www.nyhistory.org/library/visit. Digital files can be made available online for viewing only. To arrange to receive a link to the desired digital files, contact reference@nyhistory.org.

Immediate Source of Acquisition

Jane Hoffer donated the material in Series I in 2012. In 2018 she supplied additional copies of the interview transcripts in Series I (Box 1, Folder 24), plus all of the material in Series II and Series III (accession no. PPAC.2018.018). Ms. Hoffer donated the Willets Point images (Series IV) in August 2022.

Related Material at Other Institutions

The New York City Police Museum also holds a collection of Jane Hoffer's photographs of policewomen.

Collection processed by

Sophie Glidden-Lyon (2015), Joseph Ditta (2019), Margo Padilla and Larry Weimer (2022)

About this Guide

This finding aid was produced using ArchivesSpace on 2023-09-05 11:20:43 -0400.
Using Describing Archives: A Content Standard
Language: Description is in English

Processing Information

New York University Archives and Public History Intern Sophie Glidden-Lyon processed the initial accession of this collection--the portion now under Series I--in 2015. Joseph Ditta processed Series II and Series III, and revised Series I, in June 2019. archivist Margo Padilla processed the digital materials in December 2021.

In August 2022, Margo Padilla processed the digital files of Series IV, which were donated that month. Archivist Larry Weimer processed the related prints.

Repository

New-York Historical Society
New-York Historical Society
170 Central Park West
New York, NY 10024