Carl Van Vechten

Carl Van Vechten, (June 17, 1880 – December 21, 1964), original, vintage polaroid photographs featuring the celebrated photographer's Birthday party in Manhattan, June 17, 1955. Other notables include actor Leif Argo and silent film actress Aileen Pringle. Group lot of 9 items.

Van Vechten, the celebrated American writer and photographer, was the literary executor of Gertrude Stein and a key figure of the Harlem Renaissance movement. He captured iconic images of all the key members in the worlds of Art, Theater, Music, and Literature. Van Vechten viewed his photography as a hobby; he never took commissions, he never sold photographs. He would grant permission to publish them, but had strict requirements to do so. He was a prominent fixture in 20th century photography collections with his work being included in such institutions as The Library of Congress, The Museum of The City of New York and The Smithsonian Institution.

The vintage photographs are 3.5 x 3.5 inches in size with original fray cut edges and come housed (stapled) in the original Kodak photo album. All are in excellent condition. The back of the album features hand written identifiers of event and date.