Fred McDarrah: The photographer who captured Greenwich…

Pride and Protest — As the first staff photographer for the legendary Village Voice, the documentarian found himself at the heart of the Beat Generation, the Gay Liberation movement, and the AIDS pandemic. A new exhibition dives into his important archive.

At the tender age of 13, Fred W. McDarrah (1926–2007) bought his first camera at the 1939 New York World’s Fair for just 39 cents. It was a prescient moment for the Brooklyn native, who would go on to become the first staff photographer and picture editor of the Village Voice.

An avowed photojournalist and documentarian, McDarrah eschewed the conceits of fine art, preferring to use his position to speak truth to power. He got his start chronicling the Beat Generation for the Voice in 1962, and soon found himself immersed in the flourishing LGBTQ+ community that claimed Greenwich Village as its home.

During his 45 years at the Voice, McDarrah covered the city as only a newspaperman could, amassing a singular archive of queer history. The new exhibition, Fred W. McDarrah: Pride and Protest, brings together over 60 photographs made between 1959–1993 that chronicles the fight for liberation set against the backdrop of 20th century fascism and a global pandemic.

Black and white image of a person wearing a flower headpiece holding a sign that reads "Free our half sister Bambill, Free all gays from all jails."

Woman with curly blonde hair, wearing a black fur coat and seated in a chair.

Marsha P. Johnson, Fourth Christopher Street Liberation Day March, New York, New York, June 24, 1973

Candy Darling on the set of The David Susskind Show, December 7, 1970

Pride and Protest explores McDarrah’s work at the intersection of community media, documentary photography, queer culture, activism, and allyship. Featuring portraits of luminaries including James Baldwin, Marsha P. Johnson, Andy Warhol, Candy Darling, and Larry Kramer of ACT UP, the exhibition also includes scenes from the revolution such as the 1966 “Sip-In” at Julius’ Bar, 1969 Stonewall Uprising, and first Gay Pride March the following year.

Read next: An oral history of the Village Voice

Although married with children, McDarrah aligned himself with Gay Liberation throughout his life. Beat poet Allen Ginsberg wrote of the photographer: “Though not gay, a hard-laboring family man himself, he’s made photo records of gay parades for decades – sign of a real artist’s inquisitive sympathy, intelligent democracy.”

The first iteration of Pride and Protest was curated for 2023 Paris Photo by writer Vince Aletti, a longtime contributor to the Village Voice. Originally a music journalist who broke disco with his seminal column in Record World magazine, Aletti joined the Voice where he expanded to the culture beat. “The great thing about The Voice was that they allowed everyone to have their own personality,” he says of the motley crew of literary leftists that made the paper the downtown bible.

A black-and-white photograph showing a woman wearing a dark cloak, holding a cross, and standing on a staircase. Several other people, also in dark clothing, can be seen in the background. — Susan Sontag, New York, New York, December 2, 1962

“Fred was very much his own man, and since he had been there from the beginning, he was one of the main characters at the office,” Aletti continues. “He was blustery but good humoured, and he knew what he wanted. He wasn’t easy but he was also really supportive. He was not just alert to what was going on, he was really concerned about where society was going.”

Read next: In the ’60s and ’70s, Greenwich Village was the musical heart of New York

McDarrah embodied the spirit of the Fourth Estate, of the self-appointed watchdog of democracy who would not be taken in by propaganda and cheap theatrics of neither church, corporation, nor state. “Fred was the backbone of the paper, and so much of that was standing up for various causes and being in the very vocal minority,” Aletti says. “He was always ready.”

Group of men in suits, one smoking a cigarette, in a formal setting.

A large crowd gathered on a street, waving banners and flags during a pride parade event, captioned "Christopher Street Gay Liberation Day 1970".

Four individuals, two men and two women, in black and white photograph. One man wears a hat and holds a camera, the other man and two women stand alongside him, all four wear casual attire.

Woman's face adorned with intricate feathered crown, surrounded by flowers and foliage, black and white portrait.

Black capital letters spelling "GAY" on a blurred background.

James Baldwin at the Lincoln Memorial for the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom, Washington DC, March 28, 1963

The first Stonewall anniversary march, organized by the Christopher Street Liberation Day Committee, New York, New York, June 28, 1970

Cecil Beaton at the Factory, 33 Union Square West, photographing Andy Warhol, Jed Johnson, and Jay Johnson for his First American One-Man Show at Museum of City of New York, April 24, 1969

Wally, the Cockettes, Anderson Theatre, New York, New York, November 7, 1971

Sixth Annual Christopher Street Liberation Day, New York, New York, June 1975