On View
Not on viewObject number2009.91.16
Couple, Harlem
Artist
James Van Der Zee
(American, 1886-1983)
Date1932
Mediumgelatin silver print
Dimensionsmat: 16 × 20 in. (40.6 × 50.8 cm)
mount: 12 1/2 × 15 in. (31.8 × 38.1 cm)
image (flush): 7 1/2 × 9 1/2 in. (19.1 × 24.1 cm)
mount: 12 1/2 × 15 in. (31.8 × 38.1 cm)
image (flush): 7 1/2 × 9 1/2 in. (19.1 × 24.1 cm)
Credit LinePurchased with funds provided by an anonymous donor
Exhibition History"Embracing Diverse Voices: African-American Art in the Collection of the Kalamazoo Institute of Arts," KIA Galleries 3&4 (Oct. 3 - Nov. 29, 2009).
"Embracing Diverse Voices: 80 Years of African-American Art," KIA Traveling Exhibition, Bakersfield Museum of Art (Dec. 13, 2012 – Mar. 10, 2013).
"Lasting Legacy: A Collection for Kalamazoo," Kalamazoo Institute of Arts, Kalamazoo, Michigan (Sep. 6, 2014 - Jan. 4, 2015).
"Common Ground: African American Art from the Flint Institute of Arts, Kalamazoo Institute of Arts, and the Muskegon Museum of Art," FIA, Flint, Michigan (Feb. 8 - Apr. 26, 2015), KIA, Kalamazoo Institute of Arts (Aug. 21 - Nov. 15, 2015), Muskegon Museum of Arts, Muskegon, Michigan
"Dawoud Bey: Harlem, USA and Harlem Redux," KIA Galleries 2 & 5, Jan. 13 - Apr. 11, 2018
"Resilience: African American Artists as Agents of Change," at the KIA (September 14, 2019 - February 16, 2020)
"Framing Moments: Photography from KIA's Permanent Collection," KIA (Feb. 6 - May 16, 2021).
"American Realism: Visions of America 1900-1950," Muskegon Museum of Art (May 11 - August 27, 2023); Flint Institute of Arts (September 9 - December 30, 2023); KIA (January 21 - April 14, 2024).Label TextThis portrait typifies the artistic and technical skills that
made James Van Der Zee a leading photographer in New
York City for almost six decades. Beyond documenting the
people and life of Harlem, a neighborhood in the borough
of New York City’s Manhattan, his art promoted ideals of
social equality and prosperity for an emerging Black
middle-class. His photographs also presented other aspects
of the neighborhood, including Spanish Harlem and
Harlem’s white residents.
Inspired by Impressionist painters and enlisting family and
friends as subjects, Van Der Zee taught himself to
manipulate diffused light and soft-focus techniques. He
attributed his success, in part, to his natural curiosity and
studied his subjects carefully, striving to express their unique
personalities. Van Der Zee was one of several artists whose
images combated racial stereotypes circulating in the early
20th century by emphasizing the humanity of Harlem’s
people—their beauty, sophistication, pride, prosperity, and
dignity. This portrait, like countless others by Van Der Zee,
not only recorded this Harlem couple’s aspirations but also
helped advance the achievements and idealism that
characterized one of the most culturally productive periods
in American history. ["American Realism" Exhibition Label, 2023]
