Alan Behr photographs
Call Number
Date
Creator
Extent
Language of Materials
Abstract
The collection holds 142 black-and-white photographs by Alan Behr. 80 of the photos are from Behr's series "Naked at the Ball," which are scenes from the party and benefit circuit on Manhattan's Upper East Side. 61 photos are from his series "New York During the Covid-19 Lockdown," which captures New Yorkers going about their lives, masked or unmasked, during the coronavirus pandemic.
Biographical / Historical
Alan Behr is a writer, photographer and lawyer. A partner in the firm of Phillips Nizer LLP, Behr's practice concentrates on international intellectual property, fashion, and entertainment law. As part of the firm's active art practice, Behr represents artists, art galleries, art investors and collectors, and photographers and photography rights holders, of which he is one. Behr's photography centers on travel and on people in the context of their work, leisure, street life, and other social settings. Many of his images and written works have been published. Behr is a dual United States-German citizen, and lives in New York City.
(The above note is based on Alan Behr's biographical sketches on Phillips Nizer's website and on the site Behr maintains regarding his photography and writing interests.)
Arrangement
The collection is organized in three series:
Series I. "Naked at the Ball"
Series II. "New York During the Covid-19 Lockdown"
Series III. Other Subjects
Scope and Contents
The collection holds 142 black and white photographs taken by Alan Behr. 80 of the photos are from Behr's series "Naked at the Ball," which are scenes from the party and benefit circuit on Manhattan's Upper East Side. 61 photos are from Behr's series "New York During the Covid-19 Lockdown," which captures New Yorkers going about their lives, masked or unmasked, during the coronavirus pandemic. One photo is of a group of women reacting to the destruction of the World Trade Center towers on September 11, 2001.
All the photographs are signed by Alan Behr. Almost all are captioned by the photographer on the reverse, with title, location, and year. These captions were used in the finding aid's list of photographs. The photographer included an inventory of donated titles with his gift; in a few cases the inventory information differed from the caption. In those cases, the caption was used in the finding aid list, but the alternative information from the inventory was noted. In a few cases, the inventory provided somewhat more, but not factually different, information than the caption did; for those, the finding aid list drew on both sources.
Subjects
Access Restrictions
Open to qualified researchers by appointment only. Materials are stored offsite and advance notice is required for use. Please contact printroom@nyhistory.org prior to your research visit to coordinate access. Keep in mind that it will take between two (2) and five (5) business days for collections to arrive, and you should plan your research accordingly.
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
The collection should be cited as: Alan Behr photographs, PR 434, Department of Prints, Photographs, and Architectural Collections, New-York Historical Society.
Credit line: In memory of Ludwig and Sary Behr.
Location of Materials
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Gift of the photographer, Alan Behr, in 2020 and 2021.
About this Guide
Processing Information
The collection was processed by archivist Larry Weimer in January 2022.