James Baldwin
Artist
Carl Van Vechten
(American, 1880 - 1964)
CultureAmerican
Date1955
MediumGelatin silver print
Dimensions13 1/4 × 9 in. (33.7 × 22.9 cm)
Overall, Mat: 20 × 16 in. (50.8 × 40.6 cm)
Overall, Mat: 20 × 16 in. (50.8 × 40.6 cm)
InscribedIn pencil: 84%. Verso upper left, in pencil: 10. Verso upper right, in pencil: 43.
Credit LineMuseum purchase
Object number2016.23.2
On View
Chrysler Museum of Art, 242, 102--05
Label TextCarl Van Vechten American, 1880–1964 James Baldwin, 1955 Gelatin silver print (photograph) Photographer Carl Van Vechten made this portrait of writer and civil rights activist James Baldwin in 1955, the same year Baldwin published his celebrated collection of essays Notes of a Native Son. Vechten made many similar portraits of the visual, musical, and literary artists associated with the Harlem Renaissance. Although he produced an important record of black culture in the 20th century, Vechten is a controversial figure whose work can be seen as exploitative of his African American sitters. In this photograph, however, Baldwin seems to have collaborated closely with the photographer to create an engaging portrait. Museum purchase 2016.23.2ProvenancePurchased from Alan Klotz Gallery, New York, by Chrysler Museum of Art, September 2016.Exhibition History"5 Years of Photography: Building the Chrysler Collection," Photography & Focus Galleries, Chrysler Museum of Art, Norfolk, VA, June 26 - November 10, 2019. "Facing Ourselves: Mike Disfarmer and the American Portrait," Chrysler Museum of Art, Norfolk, VA, December 16, 2022 - May 14, 2023.
