James Van Der Zee and Graphics International, Ltd., in cooperation with the Van DerZee Institute, New York
Garveyite Family, Harlem, 1924
1923-1973
Scroll
- Artist: James Van Der Zee
- Publishers: Graphics International, Ltd., in cooperation with the Van DerZee Institute, New York
Garveyite Family, Harlem, 1924
1923-1973
Physical Qualities
Gelatin silver print, Mount: 383 x 318 mm. (15 1/16 x 12 1/2 in.)
Image/Sheet: 241 x 196 mm. (9 1/2 x 7 11/16 in.)
Credit Line
Saidie A. May Bequest Fund
Object Number
1975.22.8
James Van Der Zee ran a successful portrait studio in Harlem from the 1910s into the mid-1940s. His carefully arranged compositions—complete with choice props such as wooden furniture, vases of flowers, and painted backdrops—drew on older traditions of portraiture that suggested wealth and aristocratic elegance. In 1924, Van Der Zee was appointed official photographer of Jamaican-born Marcus Garvey (1887– 1940), founder of the Universal Negro Improvement Association, an international mass movement dedicated to black political and economic emancipation. Van Der Zee documented Garvey’s meetings with important leaders and recorded the parades of the African Legion, its paramilitary unit. He was frequently commissioned to portray UNIA members and their families.
The Baltimore Museum of Art by purchase, 1975; Graphics International, Ltd., Washington, D.C.
BMA, "Recent Acquisitions from the Museum's Photograph Collection," 14 June - 6 August, 1978; Traveling 1 September - 3 October, 1978.
BMA, "Harlem Views: Photographs by Aaron Siskind and James van der Zee," 2 December, 1986 - 1 March, 1987.
BMA, "BMA Collects: African-American Art," 21 January - 18 March, 1990.
Jo Anna Isaak, Hobart and William Smith Colleges, 'Looking Forward Looking Black,' The Baltimore Museum of Art, February 6, 2002 - May 5, 2002.
Rena Hoisington, BMA, "Looking through the Lens: Photography 1900-1960," 16 March - 8 June 2008.
Lauren Haney, BMA, Harlem Renaissance rotation, Link-Benesch Gallery, 1 February 2010 - 10 May 2010.
Oliver Shell, The Baltimore Museum of Art, "Richard Yarde: Beyond the Savoy," November 21, 2021 - April 25, 2022.
BMA, "Harlem Views: Photographs by Aaron Siskind and James van der Zee," 2 December, 1986 - 1 March, 1987.
BMA, "BMA Collects: African-American Art," 21 January - 18 March, 1990.
Jo Anna Isaak, Hobart and William Smith Colleges, 'Looking Forward Looking Black,' The Baltimore Museum of Art, February 6, 2002 - May 5, 2002.
Rena Hoisington, BMA, "Looking through the Lens: Photography 1900-1960," 16 March - 8 June 2008.
Lauren Haney, BMA, Harlem Renaissance rotation, Link-Benesch Gallery, 1 February 2010 - 10 May 2010.
Oliver Shell, The Baltimore Museum of Art, "Richard Yarde: Beyond the Savoy," November 21, 2021 - April 25, 2022.
Inscribed: RECTO:On mount, at lower left, in graphite: "VIII 28/75"; on mount, at lower right, in graphite: "J. Van Der Zee," VERSO: On mount, at lower right, in graphite:"Garveyite Family, Harlem, 1924"
