Steven Blain Hamilton was a poet, educator, curator, and dedicated collector who was deeply engaged with New York's artistic and literary communities. He fashioned his life after his idol, Wallace Stevens, while working at Metropolitan Life. Hamilton served on the Poetry Project Board, assisted Allen Ginsberg, taught at The New School and Naropa University, and curated, wrote, and consulted for a broad range of institutions, including MoMA, the Poetry Program at P.S.1, and The Franklin Library.

From his collection, we are offering three photographs by Peter Hujar, one of the most celebrated chroniclers of New York's downtown cultural scene. Hujar's portrait of Edwin Denby, the influential poet, dance critic, and cultural figure whose writings helped shape the appreciation of modern dance in postwar America, as well as Butch and Buster and Electric Cow, two compelling examples of Hujar's sensitive and distinctive animal portraits.