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African-American Portraits by Carl Van Vechten

This online exhibit is presented in conjunction with the 16th Annual Lillian L. Rolde Lecture, “The Strange Saga of How Georgia O'Keeffe (posthumously) Helped Uncover Carl Van Vechten's Portrait Photography at Brandeis University: African-American Literati, Artists, and Entertainers, 1932-64,” by Professor Nancy J. Scott, Associate Professor, Fine Arts, Brandeis University.

The lecture, and Professor Scott's research, are based on the Carl Van Vechten Photograph Collection owned by the Special Collections Department, Brandeis University Libraries. This collection of more than 1,600 images was given to the university by the executors of the Van Vechten estate in 1966.

The online exhibit highlights a selection of African-American portraits of artists from various fields. Many of these artists are familiar faces today, even though some of the portraits were created more than fifty years ago. The importance of these images is two-fold; they document a specific time and milieu in 20th-century American history that was neglected by others, and they are among some of the earliest art photography images created. While Van Vechten never created as technically complex images as some of the professional photographers of his day, a consistent artistic sensibility pervades his work. His portraits of the influential African-Americans of the first half of the 20th century illustrate a rich artistic and intellectual era.

Written permission to copy or publish these images or publish these images must be obtained from the Special Collections Department, Brandeis University Libraries.

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Biography of Carl Van Zechten

Carl Van Zechten Carl Van Vechten was born in Cedar Rapids, Iowa in 1880. The youngest son of a successful banker and a mother who was an patron of the arts, Van Vechten grew up in a liberal and sophisticated household. He graduated in 1903 from the University of Chicago, his interest in writing causing him to take a job as a journalist. In 1906 he moved to New York and began writing for the New York Times, taking on more and more of the arts assignments. In 1913 he met Mabel Dodge, a wealthy patron of the arts, and through her met the leading artists and intellectuals of the time, including Alfred Steiglitz, Marsden Hartley, Gertrude Stein and Emma Goldman.

Between 1915-1920 Van Vechten wrote several books of critical essays on various topics in the arts. In the 1920s he moved on to writing fiction, publishing several novels that were critical and financial successes. At this time Van Vechten discovered Harlem and spent a great deal of time there enjoying its diverse cultural and artistic offerings. This began Van Vechten's lifelong interest and championing of the African-American arts and people.

In 1932 Van Vechten moved on to a new career, from novelist to photographer. While he was always interested in photography, it was the introduction of the new Leica camera, portable and using the inexpensive 35 mm film, that caused him to take photography seriously. Van Vechten took thousands of photographs on all subjects but his favorite subject, and the one he is most known for, is portraiture. Many of the portraits by Van Vechten are of friends and acquaintances in the arts world he moved in. Because of his interest and friends in Harlem, Van Vechten took many photographs of notable African-Americans, documenting an important part of early 20th-century American history ignored and neglected by others.

Van Vechten's photographic career lasted until his death in 1964 at the age of 83. He created more than 15,000 photographs during his career, attempting to chronicle the artistic world of his time. By the time he started his photographic career Van Vechten was financially secure and never had to worry about commercial success. It was only after Van Vechten's death that a serious market for art photography was established; thus Van Vechten was able to pursue his own interests and personal aesthetic.

References

Davis, Keith F. The Passionate Observer: Photographs of Carl Van Vechten. Kansas City, MO: Hallmark Cards, Inc., 1993.

Kellner, Bruce. Carl Van Vechten and the Irreverent Decades. Norman, OK: University of Oklahoma Press, 1968.

Alphabetical List of Images

Anderson, Marian, January 14, 1940; 11" x 13 3/4"; i.d. number: XII.Q Box 2/13

Anderson, Marian, January 14, 1940; 11" x 14"; i.d. number: XIII.Q.9 Box 2/12

Anderson, Marian, January 14, 1940; 11" x 14"; i.d. number: XII.Q Box 2/14

Pearl Bailey, (in Arms o' the Girl) March 12, 1950

Bailey, Pearl, (in Arms o' the Girl) March 12, 1950; 9 1/4" x 13"; i.d. number: X.hh Box 3/4

Pearl Bailey, (taking a call after singing A Woman's Prorogative [!] in St. Louis Woman) July 5, 1946

Bailey, Pearl, (taking a call after singing A Woman's Prorogative [!] in St. Louis Woman) July 5, 1946; i.d. number: VI.CC.10 Box 3/5

Belafonte, Harry (in Almanac) February 18, 1954; 9" x 13"; i.d. number: VIII.LL Box 3/37

Harry Belafonte, (in Almanac) February 18, 1954

Belafonte, Harry (in Almanac) February 18, 1954; 9 1/4" x 14"; i.d. number: VIII.LL.10 Box 3/36

John W. Bubbles (as Sporting Life in Porgy and Bess) December 27, 1935

Bubbles, John W. (as Sporting Life in Porgy and Bess) December 27, 1935; 11" x 14"; i.d. number: XXXVI.i.4 Box 5/23

Calloway, Cab, January 12, 1940; 11" x 14"; i.d. number: XX.B.26 Box 6/7

Calloway, Cab, January 12, 1933; 11" x 14"; i.d. number: XX.b.6 Box 6/8

Carroll, Diahann, March 14, 1955; 9 1/4" x 13"; i.d. number: XII.MM.12 Box 6/13

Carroll, Diahann, March 14, 1955; 9 1/2" x 13 1/2"; i.d. number: XII.MM.21 Box 6/16

Countee Cullen, (in Central Park) June 20, 1941

Cullen, Countee (in Central Park) June 20, 1941; 9 1/2" X 13 3/4"; i.d. number: XIII.V.11 Box 8/34

Beauford, Delaney, March 18, 1953; 9 1/4" X 13 1/4"; i.d. number: XII.K.22 Box 10/1

Fitgerald, Ella January 19, 1940; 8 3/4" X 13 1/2"; i.d. number: XIV.Q.26 Box 13/16

Hurston, Zora Neal April 3, 1938; 9 1/4" x 13 1/2"; i.d. number: IV.h.8 Box 19/14

Johnson, James Weldon December 1, 1932; 9 3/4" x 13 1/2"; i.d. number: IV.b.5 Box 20/27

Jones, James Earl May 29, 1961; 9" X 13 3/4"; i.d. number: IX.SS.5 Box 21/5

Kitt, Eartha October 19, 1952; 8 3/4" x 13"; i.d. number: XVIII.JJ.4 Box 22/16

Lawrence, Jacob July 31, 1941; 9" X 14"; Box 24/19

Pippin, Horace February 4, 1940; 11" x 13 3/4"; i.d. number: XVI.Q.6

Price, Leontyne December 11, 1951; 9 1/4" x 13"; i.d. number: I.JJ.8 Box 35/1

Leontyne Price (in Porgy and Bess), May 19, 1953

Price, Leontyne (in Porgy and Bess) May 19, 1953; 9" x 13"; i.d. number: XVII.KK.11 Box 35/9

Paul Robeson (by Jacob Epstein), March 14, 1935

Robeson, Paul (by Jacob Epstein) March 14, 1935; 11" x 14"; i.d. number: VI.h.25 Box 36/32

Schuyler, George S. July 2, 1941; 8 3/4" x 12 3/4"; i.d. number: XXI.V.4 Box 38/10

Smith, Bessie February 3, 1936; 10" x 13 3/4"; i.d. number: V.J.10 Box 39/22

Ethel Waters (as Carmen), August 28, 1938

Waters, Ethel (as Carmen), August 28, 1938

Waters, Ethel August 28, 1938; 11" x 14"; i.d. number: IX.N.28 Box 44/22

Wright, Richard June 23, 1939; 11" x 14"; i.d. number: X.p.0 Box 46/25

Robert D. Farber University Archives and Special Collections

African-American Portraits by Carl Van Vechten

Biography of Carl Van Zechten

Alphabetical List of Images

Special Collections Spotlight Essay