From 1916 until 1969, James VanDerZee operated a portrait studio at various addresses in Harlem. In his heyday, from the 20s to the 40s, he took pictures of prominent Harlem figures like Marcus Garvey, the preacher Daddy Grace and Adam Clayton Powell, Sr. But in the latter part of his career, he spent more of his time on a mail-order business re-touching and restoring other people's old photographs. The same year that he closed his last location, however, his work was featured in the exhibition Harlem on My Mind at New York's Metropolitan Museum of Art. Although the exhibition was controversial, the attention that it attracted to VanDerZee's work finally brought the photographer, at age 83, the acclaim he deserved. This intimate catalogue recalls the environment in which VanDerZee worked and lived. While he did make portraits of local celebrities, including the stars of the many legitimate theaters open in Harlem before the war, his real bread-and-butter were clients from the community's thriving middle class. Despite laboring under related commercial constraints, VanDerZee pursued his work with imagination and verve, photographing his clients before elaborate backdrops or sets, making complex group portraits of Elks' lodge members, jazz bands, and ladies' clubs in their own settings.
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9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A portrait showcase of the work of James VanDerzee,
By Midwest Book Review (Oregon, WI USA) - See all my reviews
This review is from: The James Vanderzee Studio (Paperback)
The James VanDerZee Studio is a portrait showcase of the work of photographer James VanDerZee, who operated a portrait studio at various locations in Harlem from 1916 to 1969. He is best known for his portraits of leaders and popular figures such as Marcus Garvey, Adam Clayton Powell, Sr., and Bill "Bojangles" Robinson, but the bulk of his living came from his portraits of the local community's middle class. Black-and-white photographs, some of them gel-tinted, show his finest work in capturing human energy and spirit, and the thoughtful text rounds out this brief yet entrancing survey of a passionated and dedicated professional's life work.
8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Nice book, but still disappointing.,
This review is from: The James Vanderzee Studio (Paperback)
I was very disappointed with this book. Having encountered Vanderzee's images in another title, as well as in an exhibition at the International Photography Center, I expected to find more than just a handful of pictures, about twenty images. This book is like watching the commercial to an epic movie, it only stands to inspire one to go out and purchase a more indepth title. This would make a good gift to a budding photographer, or creative type. But for my personal collection, Im looking into buying another title to fully appreciate Vanderzee's images.
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