
Photographer Fred W. McDarrah served as the eyes for millions of New Yorkers for more than 50 years by using his camera lens to document the subculture bohemian arts community with the Greenwich Village.

From Bob Dylan saluting his camera while sitting on a park bench in 1960, to Andy Warhol posing next to one of his pieces at his 1964 exhibition opening, McDarrah's images showcase an interesting time to be living in the Big Apple. The photographer worked the majority of his life for the now-defunct The Village Voice - an American news and culture paper that was the known for being the country's first alternative newsweekly.

By working as the publications only staff photographer and then becoming the first picture editor, McDarrah's photos were the graphic expression of the Village Voice. He covered Gotham's diverse downtown scenes where he frequented galleries, cafes, bars and bookstores where artists and musicians often gathered.

McDarrah was on the scene for some of the most iconic moments in New York – the Stonewall rebellion, Warhol filming in the Factory and Dylan hanging out in Sheridan Square. Now, some of his most captivating images are going on display part of an exhibition by Steven Kasher Gallery titled Fred W. McDarrah: New York Scenes, September 20th - November 3rd.

The exhibit features roughly 100 of McDarrah's vintage black and white prints that span from the 1950s to 1970s. Included in the exhibit are some never-before-seen images from his extensive archive that will also be published within a new book on September 25 that collects the best of his work.

For half a century, photographer Fred W. McDarrah served as the eyes for millions of New Yorkers by using his camera lens to document the bohemian arts community with the Greenwich Village - including the image above showing Bob Dylan sitting on a bench in Christopher Park on January 22, 1965 while saluting. McDarrah worked the majority of his life as a photographer and then photo editor for the now-defunct publication, The Village Voice

McDarrah captured the image above showing artist Andy Warhol posing next to one of his pieces at his 1964 exhibition opening, The Personality of the Artist, at the Stable Gallery on April 21, 1964. McDarrah's images showcase a vintage time to be living in the Big Apple

By working as The Village Voice's only staff photographer and then becoming the first picture editor, McDarrah's photos were truly the graphic expression of the Village Voice. He covered Gotham's diverse downtown scenes where he frequented galleries, cafes, bars and bookstores where artists and musicians often gathered. Pictured in the image McDarrah captured above from left to right are Pop artists Tom Wesselmann, Roy Lichtenstein, James Rosenquist, Andy Warhol, and Claes Oldenburg at Warhol's Factory on April 21, 1964

McDarrah was on the scene for some of the most iconic moments in New York – the Stonewall rebellion, Warhol filming in the Factory and Dylan hanging out in Sheridan Square. Now, some of his most captivating images are going on display part of an exhibition by Steven Kasher Gallery titled Fred W. McDarrah: New York Scenes, September 20th - November 3rd. Pictured above are drag queens competing in the Miss All-America Camp Beauty Pageant at Town Hall on February 20, 1967

The exhibit features roughly 100 of McDarrah's vintage black and white prints that span from the 1950s to 1970s. Included in the exhibit is the image above that McDarrah snapped showing artist, activist and feminist Faith Ringgold posing with her work on August 30, 1978

Born in 1926 in Brooklyn, McDarrah bought his first camera during the 1939 World's Fair in New York City.

He eventually served in the U.S. Army as a paratrooper during World War II and attended New York University where he earned a degree in Journalism following the war. While working in advertising at a company on Madison Avenue when his neighbor, Dan Wolf, told him that he was starting a newspaper with Norman Mailer that was going to be called The Village Voice.

McDarrah joined the pair in 1955 and worked as the publications only staff photographer for decades using his old Rolleicord or a 35-millimeter Nikon S2 cameras until he became a photo editor.

He was known to be in the right place at the right time and his images through the decades chronicle the growing bohemian community within Greenwich Village.

'I was a groupie at heart,' McDarrah wrote later. 'I wanted to be part of the action. My camera was my diary, my ticket of admission, my way of remembering, preserving, proving that I had been there when it all happened.'

One of his most well-known images shows a young Bob Dylan with chapped lips and squinting his eyes while sitting on a bench at Christopher Park as he offers a salute on January 22, 1965.

Born in 1926 in Brooklyn, McDarrah bought his first camera during the 1939 World's Fair in New York City. He eventually served in the U.S. Army as a paratrooper during World War II and attended New York University where he earned a degree in Journalism following the war. McDarrah captured the image above showing New York Knicks forward Phil Jackson on the hardwood at Madison Square Garden on February 19, 1973

McDarrah started working at The Village Voice, which was an American news and culture paper that was the known for being the country's first alternative newsweekly, after being approached by one of the founders to work their as the only staff photographer in 1955. He captured the image above showing artist Ed Ruscha with some of his gunpowder ribbon drawings on December 9, 1967

McDarrah often used his old Rolleicord or a 35-millimeter Nikon S2 cameras while working for The Village Voice. Pictured above is an image McDarrah shot showing guests sitting on a mattress and on the floor at a birthday party for Ted Joans on July 25, 1959

McDarrah was known to be in the right place at the right time and his images through the decades chronicle the growing bohemian community within Greenwich Village. Pictured above in the image he captured is Timothy Leary sitting on the stage at the Village Theater while hosting his multimedia presentation illumination of the Buddah on December 6, 1966

The photographer captured the snap above showing hundreds of demonstrators in Chicago's Grant Park during the Democratic National Convention near a state of Union General John Logan on August 27, 1968

Another dynamic image McDarrah captured shows Pop artists Tom Wesselmann, Roy Lichtenstein, James Rosenquist, Andy Warhol and Claes Oldenburg standing together while at Warhol's Factor located at 231 East 47th Street on April 21, 1964.

He also snapped a photo showing then-New York Knicks forward Phil Jackson while on the hardwood at Madison Square Garden during a game on February 19, 1973.

McDarrah even captured a stunning photo showing artist, activist and author Faith Ringgold posing near her work on August 30, 1978.

The photographer was also on-hand during one of the first protests in New York City against the Vietnam War. He snapped a striking image showing masked members of the Bread and Puppet Theater, led by artist and writer Peter Schumann, marching down Thompson Street from Washington Square Park on March 15, 1965.

The night Stonewall Inn got raided by NYPD officers in June 1969, McDarrah was at first reluctant to go capture photos of the scene because he felt it was not newsworthy, according to the forthcoming book showcasing his photos.

'Though not gay, a hard laboring family man, he's made photo records of gay parades for decades – sign of a real artist's inquisitive sympathy, intelligent democracy,' a passage from the book reads.

The photographer captured the image above showing one of the first protest in New York City against the Vietnam War with masked members of the Bread and Puppet Theater, led by artist and writer Peter Schumann, marching down Thompson Street from Washington Square on March 15, 1965. McDarrah once wrote: 'I was a groupie at heart.I wanted to be part of the action. My camera was my diary, my ticket of admission, my way of remembering, preserving, proving that I had been there when it all happened.'

Over the years McDarrah built strong relationships with many artists and musicians while working for The Village Voice. In the image above McDarrah captured painter Philip Guston is pictured inside his studio on East 8th Street smoking a cigarette on April 14, 1961

He snapped the above image showing Allen Ginsberg, his longtime companion Peter Orlovsky, and Orlovsky's brother Lafcadio relaxing inside their apartment at 170 East Second Street on January 9, 1960

Pictured above is the 'Rent a Beatnik' group interviewed for the Mike Wallace Show in front of the Gaslight Cafe On MacDougal Street on April, 30, 1960. McDarrah is pictured in the center and this photo will also be part of the exhibtion

Pictured above in an image shot by McDarrah is artist Carolee Schneemann at a private first performance of Interior Scroll at an art show titled Women Here and Now honoring the United Nations International Women's Year in East Hampton, New York on August 29, 1975

McDarrah could also often be found at protests in New York City, including the one above that was to commemorate the 50th anniversary of women's suffrage in the United States. An estimated 20,000 women marched along Fifth Avenue on August 26, 1970

He also captured the images above which on the left shows a parade-goer at the intersection of West 23rd Street and Sixth Avenue during the Sixth Annual Gay Pride March (Gay Liberation Day) on June 29, 1975 and on the right shows Merce Cunningham on March 22, 1973

'However, his sense of duty, and his respect for most of his Voice colleagues, especially his friend Arthur Bell (who was the country's first openly gay newspaper columnist), kicked in, and he took nineteen photos of the event that marked the birth of the modern gay rights movement in the United States,' a passage from the book reads.

Historian Sean Wilentz evocatively describes how McDarrah documented the transformation of Greenwich Village and said no one came close to 'depicting what Fred did.'

'Fred left behind an unprecedented body of work from inside that movable site as it existed in mid-century Greenwich Village, when, for a while anyway, it shook the nation and the world.' Wilentz explained to the Steven Kasher Gallery.

'Nobody had ever come close to depicting what Fred did, and any future bohemian chronicle is bound to be shot differently from the way Fred did it. He was in the right place at the right time, and when the chance came for him to make the most of it, he didn't blow it.

'So as long as there are those who will pay attention, Fred W. McDarrah's spirit, the spirit inside these pictures, will tell its magical stories.'

The photographer, who died in 2007, worked for The Voice, which closed for good last month, for 50 years, presenting a style that was fun-loving yet candid within the thousands of images he captured.

Historian Sean Wilentz evocatively describes how McDarrah documented the transformation of Greenwich Village and said no one came close to 'depicting what Fred did.' Pictured above is an unknown person reading a copy of Allen Ginsberg while reading the book Howl on the couch at Fred W. McDarrah's apartment on February 14, 1959

'Fred left behind an unprecedented body of work from inside that movable site as it existed in mid-century Greenwich Village, when, for a while anyway, it shook the nation and the world.' Wilentz explained to the Steven Kasher Gallery. Pictured above is an image McDarrah took showing a street in New York in an undated photo