James Van Der Zee's photographs of Harlem explored in exhibition
The First Art Newspaper on the Net    Established in 1996 Tuesday, November 5, 2024


James Van Der Zee's photographs of Harlem explored in exhibition
Installation view.



WASHINGTON, DC.- Photographer James Van Der Zee (1886–1983) created an extraordinary chronicle of Black life in New York City’s Harlem neighborhood during the first half of the 20th century. On view from November 28, 2021, through May 30, 2022, James Van Der Zee’s Photographs: A Portrait of Harlem presents some 40 works from the National Gallery’s collection, providing a window into life in the historic neighborhood during the Harlem Renaissance and beyond. Harlem residents flocked to Van Der Zee’s studio to mark milestones in their lives, posing for portraits against elaborate backdrops. The exhibition highlights these portraits, as well as photographs of the community, revealing how Van Der Zee’s pictures, and the photographer himself, played a formative role in the community life of Harlem.

The exhibition includes several recently acquired works on view for the first time. The selection covers the sweep of Van Der Zee’s photographic career in Harlem, from a range of studio portraits and photographs of religious, social, and athletic community groups to images of Harlem storefronts and examples from his time serving as an official photographer for Marcus Garvey’s Universal Negro Improvement Association.

“James Van Der Zee’s photographs are essential records of a neighborhood that has had an enormous influence on American culture. His images provide an insider’s view of the community that formed Harlem—its spiritual leaders, political activists, and creatives, as well as its mothers, fathers, sons, and daughters,” said Kaywin Feldman, director, National Gallery of Art. "Thanks to many recent acquisitions, the National Gallery now holds a substantial collection of Van Der Zee’s photographs and we are honored to be able to share his work with our audiences.”

The exhibition is organized by the National Gallery of Art and curated by Diane Waggoner, curator of 19th-century photographs, National Gallery of Art.

Within a decade of moving to New York around 1905, Van Der Zee was making portraits such as the stylish half-length Portrait of a Woman (1914), which is seen at the beginning of James Van Der Zee’s Photographs: A Portrait of Harlem. By the late 1910s Van Der Zee opened his own photography studio, where he catered to the growing Harlem population, home to African Americans who moved north during the Great Migration as well as Black immigrants from Caribbean nations. Van Der Zee took particular care in composing his studio photographs—he offered clients the choice of cosmopolitan painted backdrops, an extensive collection of props, and polished wardrobe options for their pictures, as evident in studio portraits such as Portrait of a Couple (1924), Portrait of a Young Woman (1930), and A Casual Affair (1932). He also used techniques of manipulation, including subtle retouching, vivid hand-coloring, and even etching onto the negative to give the illusion of additional jewelry, seen, for example, in the teardrop necklace on the subject of "Beautiful Bride" (c. 1930).

Van Der Zee actively photographed the Harlem community beyond his studio walls. His street scenes documented the neighborhood’s vibrant commercial enterprises, such as The Avenue Fish Market (1938) and Capital Grill Restaurant (c. 1940), as well as centers of Harlem nightlife like the Club Lido (1930s). Van Der Zee was also commissioned by local professional, social, political, and spiritual organizations. In group portraits such as Alpha Phi Alpha Basketball Team (1926), Group Portrait, Church of God, Harlem (1933), and Uniform Rank of the Black Knights of Pythias (1926), Van Der Zee infused his photographs of Black collectives with a sense of pride, elegance, and self-possession.

The exhibition closes with selections from the 1974 portfolio that brought together new prints of negatives from Van Der Zee’s photographic career after his work was rediscovered for the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s 1969 exhibition, Harlem on My Mind. Though controversial for excluding African American painters and sculptors while focusing exclusively on the social history of the neighborhood, the exhibition nevertheless brought Van Der Zee’s work to public attention late in his life. Featuring some of Van Der Zee’s best-known photographs, such as Couple, Harlem (1932), it also includes some of Van Der Zee’s earliest work prior to his move to Harlem and photographs he made for Marcus Garvey and the Universal Negro Improvement Association.










Today's News

December 12, 2021

As Metro Pictures closes, its founders look back

Art Institute of Chicago opens an exhibition featuring its recent acquisition of rare magazines

James Van Der Zee's photographs of Harlem explored in exhibition

Rare painting from 17th century at risk of leaving UK

Michael Nesmith, the 'Quiet Monkee,' is dead at 78

i8 Gallery opens an exhibition of works by Dieter Roth

Notre-Dame renovation plans outrage some preservationists

Recognizing artistry: The homecoming of artist Lou Stovall

Ben Brown Fine Arts opens an exhibition of selected works by German artist Candida Höfer

Firstsite opens "Life with Art: Benton End and the East Anglian School of Painting and Drawing"

Best art exhibitions of 2021

William Turner Gallery opens an exhibition of works by Greg Miller

Elizabeth Dellert joins Cromwell Place from Affordable Art Fairs

Finding the musical spirit of Notre Dame

'Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone' first edition sells for $471,000 to set world record

Actar publishes Vacant Spaces NY by MOS Architects

Exhibition celebrates the artistic production of eighteen Mexican artists

Chennai Photo Biennale Edition III commences in a new hybrid format

Largest gold nugget found in Alaska rushes to $750,000 to lead Heritage Nature & Science Auction

Exhibition at Gallery EXIT features more than thirty new works by three artists

Kehinde Wiley at the National Gallery: The Prelude

Ailey's new secret weapon: The heroically unmannered James Gilmer

For once, singing of complete and utter clarity

Amid virus surge, Salzburg Festival announces next summer

Which card is best for online shopping?

The Near Future of Online Casinos

Why do people still buy regular Gmail accounts in 2022?

5 Helpful Tips to Efficiently Pack for a Large Local Move!

How Japanese Art Has Influenced the Global Art Industry

These are Spain's most renowned artists in history.




Museums, Exhibits, Artists, Milestones, Digital Art, Architecture, Photography,
Photographers, Special Photos, Special Reports, Featured Stories, Auctions, Art Fairs,
Anecdotes, Art Quiz, Education, Mythology, 3D Images, Last Week, .

 



Founder:
Ignacio Villarreal
(1941 - 2019)
Editor & Publisher: Jose Villarreal
Art Director: Juan José Sepúlveda Ramírez
Writer: Ofelia Zurbia Betancourt

Attorneys
Truck Accident Attorneys
Accident Attorneys
Holistic Dentist
Abogado de accidentes
สล็อต
สล็อตเว็บตรง

Royalville Communications, Inc
produces:

ignaciovillarreal.org juncodelavega.com facundocabral-elfinal.org
Founder's Site. Hommage
to a Mexican poet.
Hommage
       

The First Art Newspaper on the Net. The Best Versions Of Ave Maria Song Junco de la Vega Site Ignacio Villarreal Site Parroquia Natividad del Señor
Tell a Friend
Dear User, please complete the form below in order to recommend the Artdaily newsletter to someone you know.
Please complete all fields marked *.
Sending Mail
Sending Successful