Bill Cunningham has passed away aged 87. His death has been confirmed by The New York Times, two days after news broke that he had been hospitalised after having a stroke.

One of the most prolific fashion photographers of his generation, Cunningham spent nearly 40 years working for the NY Times, documenting style and the different ways people expressed it in his columns “On the Street” and “Evening Hours.”

In 2010, he was put on the other side of the lens, starring in Bill Cunningham New York – a documentary about his life and work which featured appearances from Iris Apfel and Anna Wintour among others.

“I don’t know how many times he has taken my photograph, but we all dress for Bill,” said Wintour in a 2002 interview with the Times. “You feel he’s the only one who notices or cares how you dress. I wonder if Bill will like this. And it’s always a flattering picture he chooses. He picks everything carefully, so you will look your best. He’s a very seductive guy.”

“His company was sought after by the fashion world’s rich and powerful, yet he remained one of the kindest, most gentle and humble people I have ever met,” said Arthur Ochs Sulzberger Jr., the New York Times’s publisher and chairman. “We have lost a legend, and I am personally heartbroken to have lost a friend.”

Our thoughts are with those who knew and loved Cunningham.