VanDerZee: Photographer, 1886-1983 [Paperback]

Deborah Willis-Braithwaite (Author), Rodger C. Birt (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 1, 1998

The career of the African-American photographer James VanDerZee spanned 80 years, from his turn-of-the-century photographs of family and friends in Lenox, Massachusetts, to his late portraits, made when he was in his nineties, of Bill Cosby, Eubie Blake and Jean-Michel Basquiat. VanDerZee is best remembered as the eyes of the Harlem Renaissance, and this book reproduces some of the thousands of photographs he took between the wars in New York's Harlem, where he ran the leading commercial photographic studio. They include portraits of celebrities and community leaders; children and families; weddings and parties; documentary photographs; and photographs of nudes or whimsical subjects for calendars and posters. This study includes many of VanDerZee's best-known images, and essays discussing his life and work.

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

VanDerZee was the first 20th-century African American photographer to achieve commercial success and fame. Between the wars, he ran a photography studio in Harlem, where he documented the famous and the everyday of the Harlem Renaissance more thoroughly than any other photographer. Thanks to the inclusion of some of his images in the 1969 Metropolitan Museum of Art exhibition "Harlem on My Mind," he was rediscovered at age 83, living in poverty in Harlem. Before he died, he again took up the camera to photograph many prominent African Americans, including Muhammad Ali, Romare Bearden, and Bill Cosby. Published on the occasion of an exhibition at the National Portrait Gallery, this first major survey of his work in 20 years presents a full retrospective in high-quality reproductions. Willis-Braithwaite ( Black Photographers, 1840-1988 , 1985) and Birt (humanities, San Francisco State Univ.) provide excellent essays tracing VanDerZee's life and work, while detailed captions accompany the photos. Highly recommended for photography and African American studies collections.
- Kathleen Collins, New York Transit Museum Archives, Brooklyn
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

• Paperback: 192 pages
• Publisher: Harry N. Abrams (September 1, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0810927829
• ISBN-13: 978-0810927827
• Product Dimensions: 11.8 x 8.8 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.6 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #314,768 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

13 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Vanderzee: When Photography Becomes More Than Documentation, May 2, 2001

By 

J. Koskinen (Kansas City, MO United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: VanDerZee: Photographer, 1886-1983 (Paperback)

When watching Ken Burn's "Jazz" on television, look for Vanderzee's contribution; when viewing Ken Burns' "Baseball" on video, look for Vanderzee's contribution; when you see images of African-Americans sitting in parlors, going to church in their Sunday finest, or heading off to war, their hearts full of patriotism even in the midst of racial separatism, look for Vanderzee's contribution - he was there. Our history is so much more than what we have seen on television and read in the newspapers; we are so much more than the victimized remains of a harsh and unjustice past; we have survived and found dignity in the most bizarre places, and Vanderzee and other photographers like him went to these places and perserved a dignity that is only now being revealed. Thank you Ms. Willis.

10 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars an exceptional representation of VanDerZee work ..., September 30, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: VanDerZee: Photographer, 1886-1983 (Paperback)

This book is exceptional treatment of VanDerZee's photography and the role he played in the development of twentieth century photography. His use of the discipline to represent African American role in 20th century American history and photography. Most cities had at least one serious African American photographer who helped document black life in that city. His use of photography as survival tool and the expression of life in Harlem during the Harlem Renaissance.

VanDerZee's work survived the most incredible changes in the field of photography i.e. from flash powder to the electronic flash. In VanDerZee's work you can find portraits of great historical African Americans such as Marcus Garvey, W.E.B. Dubois, Romare Bearden, Muhammed Ali, Bill Cosby and many hard working African Americans.VanDerZee photographed for eighty plus years. This book should be read and study by all beginning photographers so that the must understand what one must do to survive in the discipline.