Dancers, New York, 1956
Artist: Roy DeCarava (American, 1919-2009)
Date: 1956 (printed c. 1986)
Dimensions:
Overall: 14 x 9 13/16 in. (35.6 x 25 cm);
Image: 13 x 8 7/8 in. (33.1 x 22.6 cm)
Medium: Gelatin-silver print
Classification: Photographs
Credit Line: Purchased with funds from the Libbey Endowment, Gift of Edward Drummond Libbey
Object number: 1988.57
Label Text:Roy DeCarava grew up in Harlem and began his artistic career studying to be a painter. He ended up concentrating on photography as he realized that, “A black painter, to be an artist, had to join the white world or not function—had to accept the values of white culture.”
By 1950, three of DeCarava’s photographs were purchased by Edward Steichen (see his photo of Isadora Duncan in this exhibition) for the Museum of Modern Art in New York. With the support of Steichen, DeCarava became the first African American to receive a Guggenheim Fellowship in 1952. The Fellowship allowed him to devote himself to the study of African American culture in New York. The images he produced of Harlem displayed a lyrical quality unlike anything seen before.
DeCarava used available light whenever possible. His images are full of shadows and reflections and have been described as “bafflingly dark,” as in this image of two dancers performing in a nightclub.
By 1950, three of DeCarava’s photographs were purchased by Edward Steichen (see his photo of Isadora Duncan in this exhibition) for the Museum of Modern Art in New York. With the support of Steichen, DeCarava became the first African American to receive a Guggenheim Fellowship in 1952. The Fellowship allowed him to devote himself to the study of African American culture in New York. The images he produced of Harlem displayed a lyrical quality unlike anything seen before.
DeCarava used available light whenever possible. His images are full of shadows and reflections and have been described as “bafflingly dark,” as in this image of two dancers performing in a nightclub.
Not on view