Percy Loomis Sperr (P.L. Sperr) (1890–1964) was an early 20th century

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

photographer. He is most widely known for his

street photography Street photography is photography conducted for art or inquiry that features unmediated chance encounters and random incidents within Public space, public places. It usually has the aim of capturing images at a decisive or poignant moment by caref ...

of New York City that was done under contract for the

New York Public Library The New York Public Library (NYPL) is a public library system in New York City. With nearly 53 million items and 92 locations, the New York Public Library is the second-largest public library in the United States behind the Library of Congress a ...

from the early 1920s until the early 1940s. During those two decades, he took 30,000 to 45,000 photographs of the five boroughs of New York. His favorite subjects were his home borough of

Staten Island Staten Island ( ) is the southernmost of the boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City, coextensive with Richmond County and situated at the southernmost point of New York (state), New York. The borough is separated from the ad ...

and the many harbors of New York.

References

External links

Percy Loomis Sperr
on Find A Grave * Smith-Peter, Susan (2021). To See a City: Percy Loomis Sperr and the Total Photographic Documentation of New York City, 1924-45. Blog at the Gotham Center for NYC History, CUNY Graduate Center. https://www.gothamcenter.org/blog/lg4t4th8vfvm6xrzgefg5jjje3v0vm {{DEFAULTSORT:Sperr, Percy Loomis 1890 births 1964 deaths 20th-century American photographers Photographers from New York City American street photographers