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Home>Exhibitions>Past>2021>James Van Der Zee’s Photographs: A Portrait of Harlem

# James Van Der Zee’s Photographs: A Portrait of Harlem

Past Exhibition

## November 28, 2021 – May 30, 2022West Building, Ground Floor, Gallery 22

Photographer James Van Der Zee created an extraordinary chronicle of life in Harlem during the 1920s and 1930s and beyond. Residents of this majority Black neighborhood in New York City turned to Van Der Zee and his camera to mark special occasions. His carefully composed, cosmopolitan photographs conveyed the personalities, aspirations, and spirit of his sitters. Some 40 works from the National Gallery’s collection feature Van Der Zee’s studio portraits, along with his photographs of Harlem nightclubs and storefronts as well as religious, social, political, and athletic community groups. Together they provide a glimpse into Harlem’s rich social life as it became an influential center of American culture during the Harlem Renaissance.

Story
James Van Der Zee’s Retouched Portraits
To present sitters in the best possible light and perfect his portrait photographs, Van Der Zee even drew jewelry onto his negatives.

Podcast
Bonus Episode: Celeste Headlee and James Van Der Zee’s “Couple, Harlem”
In this photograph, journalist and musician Celeste Headlee hears *Lenox Avenue*, a suite her grandfather William Grant Still named after Harlem’s main street. This 1932 portrait captures the pride of Black Americans achieving success during the Harlem Renaissance despite systemic injustice. 

## Selected Works

James Van Der Zee’s Photographs: A Portrait of Harlem
James Van Der Zee, *Portrait of Sisters*, 1926, gelatin silver print, National Gallery of Art, Washington, Robert B. Menschel Fund © 1969 Van Der Zee

James Van Der Zee’s Photographs: A Portrait of Harlem
James Van Der Zee, *Portrait of a Couple*, 1924, gelatin silver print, National Gallery of Art, Washington, Robert B. Menschel Fund © 1969 Van Der Zee

James Van Der Zee’s Photographs: A Portrait of Harlem
James Van Der Zee, *A Casual Affair*, 1932, gelatin silver print, National Gallery of Art, Washington, Gift of Ellen and Richard Sandor © 1969 Van Der Zee

James Van Der Zee’s Photographs: A Portrait of Harlem
James Van Der Zee, *Club Lido*, 1930s, gelatin silver print, National Gallery of Art, Washington, Gift of Ellen and Richard Sandor © 1969 Van Der Zee

James Van Der Zee’s Photographs: A Portrait of Harlem
James Van Der Zee, *Alpha Phi Alpha Basketball Team*, 1926, gelatin silver print, National Gallery of Art, Washington, Corcoran Collection (The Evans-Tibbs Collection, Gift of Thurlow Evans Tibbs, Jr.) © 1969 Van Der Zee

James Van Der Zee’s Photographs: A Portrait of Harlem
James Van Der Zee, *Group Portrait, Church of God, Harlem*, 1933, gelatin silver print, National Gallery of Art, Washington, Pepita Milmore Memorial Fund © 1969 Van Der Zee

James Van Der Zee’s Photographs: A Portrait of Harlem
James Van Der Zee, *Portrait of a Young Woman*, 1930, gelatin silver print with applied color, National Gallery of Art, Washington, Pepita Milmore Memorial Fund © 1969 Van Der Zee

James Van Der Zee’s Photographs: A Portrait of Harlem
James Van Der Zee, *Daisye*, 1931, gelatin silver print with applied color, National Gallery of Art, Washington, Avalon Fund © 1969 Van Der Zee

James Van Der Zee’s Photographs: A Portrait of Harlem
James Van Der Zee, *Marcus Garvey (right) with George O. Marke (left) and Prince Kojo Tovalou-Houénou*, 1924, gelatin silver print, National Gallery of Art, Washington, Avalon Fund © 1969 Van Der Zee

James Van Der Zee’s Photographs: A Portrait of Harlem
James Van Der Zee, *Harlem Store Front*, 1934, gelatin silver print, National Gallery of Art, Washington, Avalon Fund © 1969 Van Der Zee

James Van Der Zee’s Photographs: A Portrait of Harlem
James Van Der Zee, *Soldier*, 1944, gelatin silver print, National Gallery of Art, Washington, Avalon Fund © 1969 Van Der Zee

James Van Der Zee’s Photographs: A Portrait of Harlem
James Van Der Zee, *Uniform Rank of the Black Knights of Pythias*, 1926, gelatin silver print, National Gallery of Art, Washington, Avalon Fund © 1969 Van Der Zee

James Van Der Zee’s Photographs: A Portrait of Harlem
James Van Der Zee, *Portrait of a Woman*, 1914, gelatin silver print, National Gallery of Art, Washington, Avalon Fund © 1969 Van Der Zee

James Van Der Zee’s Photographs: A Portrait of Harlem
James Van Der Zee, *“Beautiful Bride*,” c. 1930, gelatin silver print, National Gallery of Art, Washington, Alfred H. Moses and Fern M. Schad Fund © 1969 Van Der Zee

James Van Der Zee’s Photographs: A Portrait of Harlem
James Van Der Zee, *The Van Der Zee Men, Lenox, Massachusetts*, 1908, printed 1974, gelatin silver print, National Gallery of Art, Washington, Alfred H. Moses and Fern M. Schad Fund © 1969 Van Der Zee

James Van Der Zee’s Photographs: A Portrait of Harlem
James Van Der Zee, *Dancer, Harlem*, 1925, printed 1974, gelatin silver print, National Gallery of Art, Washington, Alfred H. Moses and Fern M. Schad Fund © 1969 Van Der Zee

James Van Der Zee’s Photographs: A Portrait of Harlem
James Van Der Zee, *Couple, Harlem,* 1932, printed 1974, gelatin silver print, National Gallery of Art, Washington, Alfred H. Moses and Fern M. Schad Fund © 1969 Van Der Zee

**Organization**                        Organized by the National Gallery of Art, Washington

The exhibition is curated by Diane Waggoner, curator of 19th-century photographs.

**Passes** Admission is always free and passes are not required

**Banner detail**: James Van Der Zee, *Portrait of a Couple*, 1924, gelatin silver print, National Gallery of Art, Washington, Robert B. Menschel Fund © 1969 Van Der Zee

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