Some of the most amazing portraits of Harlem’s 20th century figures were captured by Carl Van Vechten (1880-1964). A writer and photographer, Van Vechten socialized with the greats of African American arts and letters. A white patron of the arts, he was a controversial figure who authored the 1926 novel “Nigger Heaven.” At the height of the Harlem Renaissance, Van Vechten began photographing writers, musicians, politicians, athletes, and artists, and continued doing so for decades.

Leontyne Price pictured here in 1952 is from Van Vechten’s unrealized portfolio Noble Black Women: The Harlem Renaissance and After, was the first Black soprano to receive international acclaim and had a long association with the Metropolitan Opera.

In 1980, concerned that Van Vechten’s fragile negatives were deteriorating, Richard Benson, in conjunction with the Eakins Press Foundation, transformed fifty of the portraits into photogravure prints. A beautiful print of a beautiful portrait of an important artist.