Will Faller (American, 1940- )
Will Faller is an American photographer best known for his evocative photographs of New York City made during the 1960s. Trained as a commercial photographer after moving to New York shortly after high school, Faller developed a distinctive personal vision rooted in the city’s streets, architecture, and everyday life. While he earned his living in commercial photography, he remained deeply engaged with the fine-art photography community and was an accomplished darkroom printer and mentor to younger photographers.
His photographs from the late 1960s capture New York with a quiet lyricism, emphasizing light, geometry, and fleeting human moments rather than spectacle. Though he never achieved the widespread recognition of contemporaries such as Garry Winogrand or Lee Friedlander, his work reflects the same fertile moment in American street photography, combining formal rigor with an understated humanism. Faller also exhibited alongside many important conceptual and photographic artists, including in The Altered Photograph at PS1 in 1979.
Beyond his own photography, Faller played an important role behind the scenes. He taught darkroom techniques to photographers including Melissa Shook, who credited his technical expertise and perceptive guidance as foundational to her artistic development. He also collaborated with artists, worked extensively as a commercial photographer, and later became an art dealer and collector in upstate New York, helping preserve and promote photographic history.
His vintage New York photographs remain relatively scarce and are increasingly appreciated for their intimate portrayal of the city during a transformative era, offering a thoughtful and highly personal perspective on urban life.