My father Jan Yoors passed away forty-five years ago, a month after I had turned nine. For me he is forever frozen in that moment, a larger than life person who lived an epic life. I have spent the past twenty years archiving and cataloging his art and the accumulated ephemera, which has helped to build a fuller picture of the life he lived. I have heard him described as a slight, baby faced, a great raconteur and a man who “never met a stranger but only friends he has not yet met”. In filmed interviews he comes across as calm, soft-spoken yet unflappable, confident in his chosen path. A man comfortable in his own skin, enjoying exploring the world and embracing all its diversity.

Upon this occasion, of the centennial of Jan’s birth, we have the opportunity of this book to dig deeper into our archives, revisiting these contact sheets and presenting images for their first time. Jan’s photography is a window into this time, post-war and just before the upheavals of the late 1960s. We get to see the world through Jan’s eyes, intimate moments with the people of New York City whom he loved.

(Kore Yoors, 2023)