Research Catalog

Title

[Photographs] / Gordon Parks.

Author

Parks, Gordon, 1912-2006

Publication

1941-1967.

Items in the Library & Off-site

Details

Additional Authors

FSA/OWI Collection (Library of Congress), sponsor.

Description

• 38 items (.8 cubic ft., two boxes); 36 x 28 cm and smaller.
• 25 photographic prints : gelatin silver, black and white ;
• 13 photographic prints : gelatin silver, black and white ;

Summary

• Depictions primarily of African Americans living in Washington, D.C. and New York City during the 1940s. The collection consists of individual and group portraits of young children and some adolescents at home or in their communities (1942-1943); views of housing conditions for individuals and families (1942-1943); a government charwoman at her job (1942); religious services (1942); a Black youth and white youth at an interracial summer camp (1943); and a meeting of Washington, D.C auxiliary police (1942). Many images reflect living and social conditions, particularly for children and families, living in Southwest Washington, D.C. and Harlem, New York. Of note are depictions of Ella Watson, a government charwoman in Washington, D.C., that include views of her home, her adopted daughter, and her grandchildren, as well as her office cleaning job (1942).
• Also included are a studio portrait of baritone Todd Duncan (1941); a portrait of a Detroit, Michigan, couple on their way to church (1950); and view of a mother and her family meeting with a poverty board representative (1967).

Subjects

• Gelatin silver prints > 1940-1969
• Group portraits > 1940-1969
• Portrait photographs > 1940-1959
• Washington (D.C.)
• Harlem (New York, N.Y.)
• City & town life > United States > 1940-1959
• African Americans > Employment > Washington (D.C.) > 1940-1949
• Manners & customs > United States > 1940-1959
• African Americans > Social life > 1940-1959
• African American singers
• African American families
• African Americans > Children > 1940-1959
• African Americans > Economic & social conditions > New York (State) > New York > 1940-1969
• African Americans > Economic & social conditions > Washington (D.C.) > 1940-1949

Genre/Form

• Portrait photographs – 1940-1959.
• Group portraits – 1940-1969.
• Gelatin silver prints – 1940-1969.

Note

• Title devised by cataloger.
• Some items bear Farm Security Administration hand stamp on verso. Some items have typewritten caption labels attached to verso; some items bear handwritten captions on verso. Some items are duplicates.
• Some items are either matted (53 x 41 cm mats) or mounted (51 x 38 cm or smaller mounts) with window mats removed.
• Collection includes work produced for the Farm Security Administration, the Office of War Information and Life Magazine.

Terms of Use (note)

• Collection is under copyright; permission of the copyright holder is required for duplication.

Biography (note)

• Gordon Parks, 1912-2006, was an African American photographer, filmmaker, writer and composer. Parks is best known as a staff photographer for Life Magazine (1948-1972) and a freelancer for Vogue and Glamour magazines (late 1940s); a documentary photographer for the Farm Security Administration/Office of War Information (1942-1944) and the Standard Oil Photography Project (late 1940s); director of the films "The Learning Tree" (1969) and "Shaft" (1971); and author of the semi-autobiographical novel "The Learning Tree" (1963), books of poetry, and manuals on photography and filmmaking.

Call Number

Sc Photo Portfolio (Parks, G.)

OCLC

1281912744

Author

Parks, Gordon, 1912-2006, photographer.

Title

[Photographs] / Gordon Parks.

Production

1941-1967.

Type of Content

still image

Type of Medium

unmediated

Type of Carrier

sheet

Terms Of Use

Collection is under copyright; permission of the copyright holder is required for duplication.

Biography

Gordon Parks, 1912-2006, was an African American photographer, filmmaker, writer and composer. Parks is best known as a staff photographer for Life Magazine (1948-1972) and a freelancer for Vogue and Glamour magazines (late 1940s); a documentary photographer for the Farm Security Administration/Office of War Information (1942-1944) and the Standard Oil Photography Project (late 1940s); director of the films "The Learning Tree" (1969) and "Shaft" (1971); and author of the semi-autobiographical novel "The Learning Tree" (1963), books of poetry, and manuals on photography and filmmaking.

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Added Author

FSA/OWI Collection (Library of Congress), sponsor.

Research Call Number

Sc Photo Portfolio (Parks, G.)