James Van Der Zee,

A Parade Going South on 7th Avenue at 139th Street, Harlem, ca. c. 1917; printed 1982

Gelatin silver print

Exceptional image from the preeminent photographer of the Harlem Renaissance. Hand-signed by the artist and dated in black marker in lower right margin. Mounted with plastic corners to backing and matted, as originally issued. Unframed. Excellent condition.

Among the most renowned photographers of the Harlem Renaissance, James Van Der Zee immortalized the 1920s and ’30s in Harlem. Van Der Zee depicted a wide swath of Black life in his images, from prominent figures like activist Marcus Garvey, singer Mamie Smith, and entertainer Bill “Bojangles” Robinson to ordinary members of the rising Black middle class. Van Der Zee's career spanned more than seventy years, but his work first achieved broad recognition by the majority-white art world beyond Harlem only in 1969, when it was included in the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s controversial exhibition titled Harlem on My Mind: Cultural Capital of Black America, 1900-1968. Working out of his commercial photography studio on 135th Street, he became known for his soft-edged portraits that depicted his subjects with elegance and refinement.