Third Streaming & The Alvin Baltrop Trust
When Alvin Baltrop passed away in 2004, much of his life’s work remained unseen—his vast archive of negatives, prints, and ephemera largely unrecognized by the institutions that now celebrate his vision. In 2008, Yona Backer became involved with The Alvin Baltrop Trust, working closely with Randall Wilcox—an artist, friend of Baltrop, and Trustee of the Trust—to ensure that his work would not remain in the shadows.
Early on, a key priority was establishing a structured and comprehensive database of Baltrop’s work. This effort has encompassed the documentation of his existing prints, publications, monographs, and related ephemera while also securing licensing partnerships to expand the reach of his photographs. In 2011, Third Streaming produced and presented Alvin Baltrop: Photographs 1965-2003, the first extensive survey of his work. The exhibition, alongside a carefully developed legacy-planning strategy, played a pivotal role in reshaping Baltrop’s posthumous recognition.
Following the show, Third Streaming worked with the Trust to develop a lasting institutional foundation for Baltrop’s archive—including recordings, interviews, correspondence, family photographs, cameras, personal ID cards, and more—culminating in its donation to The Bronx Museum of the Arts in 2014. In the years since, we have been actively building a living archive that extends beyond the artist’s lifetime, encompassing not only his original prints and negatives but also his working materials—contact sheets, color slides, test prints—alongside documentation of his posthumous recognition. This growing archive includes published and online materials, monographs, licensing projects, and related ephemera, reflecting the full breadth of Baltrop’s legacy as it continues to expand.
Three monographs have been published on Baltrop’s work: Alvin Baltrop: The Piers (2015), Dreams Into Glass (2012), and The Life and Times of Alvin Baltrop (2019), offering critical perspectives and in-depth explorations of his photography. His impact was further cemented in 2019 when The Bronx Museum mounted a major one-person survey exhibition, introducing his work to new audiences and solidifying his place in the canon of American photography.
Beyond institutional exhibitions, Baltrop’s photographs have been introduced to new audiences through licensing projects. His photographs have been featured on album covers, including Anohni’s My Back Was a Bridge for You to Cross (2023), and have been integrated into fashion through a collaboration with Joseph Altuzarra/Altu. Moreover, his work was showcased in the Netflix docuseries The Andy Warhol Diaries (2022), bringing his compelling visuals to a global streaming audience.
As we near completion of a comprehensive database of Baltrop’s work, we remain committed to advancing his legacy through ambitious new projects that further public engagement. These initiatives, still in their early stages, build on years of research, preservation, and advocacy. Since 2016, our partnership with Galerie Buchholz has helped ensure that Baltrop’s photographs continue to reach broader audiences and gain the critical recognition they deserve, further securing his impact on contemporary art.
“In the dark, we all can be free”
Alvin Baltrop (1948-2004) was born in the Bronx, New York, and spent most of his life living and working in New York City. From 1969 to 1972, he served in the Vietnam War and began photographing his comrades. Upon his return, he enrolled in the School of the Visual Arts in New York, where he studied from 1973 to 1975. After working various jobs — vendor, jewelry designer, printer — he settled on the banks of Manhattan's West Side, where he would produce the bulk of his photographic output.
Powerful, lyrical, and controversial, Alvin Baltrop's photographs are a groundbreaking exploration of clandestine gay culture in New York in the 1970s and 80s. His work is reflective of the grassroots passion and raw energy of New York City’s underground gay culture. Baltrop focused his lens on the derelict warehouses beneath Manhattan's West Side piers; which was a lawless, forgotten part of the city that played host to gay cruising, art-making, drug smuggling, prostitution, and suicides. Baltrop documented this scene, unflinchingly and obsessively capturing everything from fleeting naked figures in mangled architectural environments to scenes of explicit sex and police raids on the piers.
While the outside world saw New York as the glamorous playground of Studio 54, Warhol's gang, and the disco era; Baltrop photographed the city's gritty flipside. His work is an important part of both gay culture and the history of New York itself, and his photographs are a powerful tribute to a long-forgotten world at the city's dilapidated margins.
For information, click on the links below
Browse photography through Art Resource
The Alvin Baltrop Archive at the Bronx Museum:
As The Bronx Museum of the Arts is undergoing a major renovation of its South Wing, in-person access to the archives is currently not available until the completion of the project in 2025.
Select digital access is available. Please contact curatorial@bronxmuseum.org with your specific requests. Thank you!
For research questions or to visit the archive at Third Streaming, please contact:
For sales inquiries, contact Galerie Buchholz
Peter Currie
peter@galeriebuchholz.com
