Carl van Vechten

Carl van Vechten began his professional life as a writer and critic, but he gave that up to take up photography.  Describing himself as an amateur, he was a major figure in the Harlen Renaissance and the early stages of the Civil Rights movement.  He managed all that by living off his family family fortune as the son of a prominent and wealthy banker.  We start the series with a photo of dancer Allen Meadows, who will appear again later in the set.

 

Donald and Sandy

These two are Donald Windham and Sandy Campbell, lovers who used their connections and own money to found a major literary prize.  They also moved in the circle of George Platt Lynes.

 

Unknown

I have no idea what the head cover and waist band signify, but I like the photo.

 

Allen Meadows and Hugh Laing

Allen Meadows (left) and Hugh Laing make a nice counterpoint here.

 

Unknown

The metallic backdrop for this photo of an unknown dancer might have been edgy at the time, it doesn't do much for me.  Van Vechten was more imaginative in his portrait work.

 

Richard Wright

Born and raised in Mississippi, novelist Richard Wright (1908-1960) wrote of the struggles of African-Americans in a racist America in the first half of the 20th Century.  He encountered (and posed for) Carl van Vechten during an interlude of living in Harlem.  Totally disenchanted with American racism, he moved permanently to Paris in 1946.

 

More curtains

Van Vechten's male nudes tend to be in unimaginative settings such as this,

although sometimes he spiced them up with prints and props.

 

Seated

We get a glimpse of bush in this van Vechten seated nude.

 

More curtains

This unidentified van Vechten model looks partially wrapped in drapery material.

 

John Latouche, 1914-1954

Our last Carl van Vechten image is a portrait of Broadway lyricist John Latouche, taken during his World War II service in the U.S. Navy.  Mr. Latouche had a string of hit shows on Broadway and worked closely with everyone from Duke Ellington to Leonard Bernstein.  Openly gay, he died of a sudden heart attack at age 41 and was survived by long term partner Kenward Elmslie.

 

Virgil Thomson and Maurice Grosser

This is Lyne's 1936 portrait of groundbreaking American composer and author Virgil Thomson, 1896-1989.  Mr. Thompson and his lifelong lover Maurice Grosser, 1903-1986, lived for decades at the Hotel Chelsea in New York where they held a salon of gay glitterati of their era.  Thomson induced Gertrude Stein to write the libretto for his opera Four Saints in Three Acts, and Grosser would take Georgia O'Keefe riding on the back of his motorcycle.  Quite a pair, but I can't find a picture of the two together.  This is a photo of Mr. Grosser by Carl van Vechten, whose work has appeared here:

 

Carl van Vechten Day

Carl van Vechten (1880-1964) was an American writer and photographer best known for chronicling the Harlem Renaissance and being the executor of Gertrude Stein's literary estate.  Married to women most of his life, he engaged in frequent and numerous homosexual affairs.  We start today's series with a shot of Geoffrey Holder, an actor, dancer, musician, and artist.

 

Brando

Van Vechten did a memorable photo shoot with up and coming Broadway star 

Marlon Brando on December 27, 1948.  This is about as close to a nude as we got.

 

Vincent Puriter

Although he is consistently named on a number of archival and resale websites,

I was not able to find any information on this Van Vechten model, Vincent Puriter.

 

Ramon Navarro

Carl van Vechten's life and career intersected with a number of famous (and sometimes notorious) figures in 20th Century gay life.  He took this excellent portrait of actor Ramon Navarro decades before his murder at the hands of the Paul Ferguson, a physique model whose story I've posted here.

 

Bill Earl

Dancer Bill Earl posed for Carl van Vechten in 1948.

Mr. Earl later became a well regarded ballet instructor.

 

James Earl Jones

This relatively rare color Van Vechten photo is a young James Earl Jones.

 

Dancer?

One gets the impression that this unidentified Van Vechten model is a dancer.

 

Phillip Johnson

This 1933 portrait of gay American architect Phillip Johnson

is one of my favorite Van Vechten photographs.

 

Unknown

Closing out the Carl van Vechten series with an unknown African-American model.

I wish we knew who this handsome and well-built man was.