Photographer James Van Der Zee was active from the 1920s through the late 1970s, working primarily in his native Harlem neighborhood in New York city.  Through his elegant portraits and images of social, religious and athletic groups, he created an intimate narrative about his community, showing the world a part of America that was rarely seen.

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Links for this episode:

• James Van Der Zee in the Collection of the Art Institute of Chicago
• The Studio Museum of Harlem is the custodian of a large archive of Van Der Zee’s work
• Van Der Zee’s funerary portraits