id: 291896
accession number: 2016.270
share license status: Copyrighted
url: https://clevelandart.org/art/2016.270
updated: 2024-03-26 02:01:52.712000
Harlem, New York, c. 1960. Louis H. Draper (American, 1935–2002). Vintage gelatin silver print; image: 25 x 16.8 cm (9 13/16 x 6 5/8 in.); paper: 35.3 x 27.9 cm (13 7/8 x 11 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Mr. and Mrs. Richard W. Whitehill Art Purchase Endowment Fund 2016.270
title: Harlem, New York
title in original language:
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series in original language:
creation date: c. 1960
creation date earliest: 1955
creation date latest: 1965
current location:
creditline: Mr. and Mrs. Richard W. Whitehill Art Purchase Endowment Fund
copyright:
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culture: America
technique: vintage gelatin silver print
department: Photography
collection: PH - American 1951-Present
type: Photograph
find spot:
catalogue raisonne:
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CREATORS
* Louis H. Draper (American, 1935–2002) - artist
American photographer, 1935-2002
Raised in segregated Richmond, Virginia, Louis Draper (1935–2002) moved to New York City to study photography in 1957. He supported himself through commercial photography, film production, and teaching so he could produce his personal work. Shooting mostly in Harlem and around New York, Draper created reflective and penetrating portraits, compelling street photography, and, later in life, abstractions. Although Draper rarely commented on individual photographs, he wrote and spoke about the impact he felt he could make through photography. The profession caused him to “realize that what I felt had worth; that I could make strong statements about the world in visual terms and that often these images did in fact move people emotionally. I had power . . . [that] was given to me for the purpose of sharing.” Seeking an ongoing forum for dialogue with other photographers, in 1963 Draper co-founded Kamoinge, an important collective of African American photographers that continues to this day in Harlem. Among the group’s concerns was to try to define a black aesthetic in photography. Draper proposed in 1972 that it would require “an investigation into the nature of what it means to be black, and a translation of that into optical terms.”
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measurements: Image: 25 x 16.8 cm (9 13/16 x 6 5/8 in.); Paper: 35.3 x 27.9 cm (13 7/8 x 11 in.)
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inscription: Written in pencil on verso: “9-1/2 x 12-1/2-Inner/11 x 14-Outer/300.00
Written in pencil on verso: “31/41”
Written in pencil on verso: “LD021/53/DR0121.1”
Written in ink on verso: “21”
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remark:
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CURRENT EXHIBITIONS
title: Black in America: Louis Draper and Leonard Freed
opening date: 2017-02-26T05:00:00
Black in America: Louis Draper and Leonard Freed. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (February 26-July 30, 2017).
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LEGACY EXHIBITIONS
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PROVENANCE
Louis Draper (the artist)
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estate of Louis Draper
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Steven Kasher Gallery, New York, NY
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the Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
date: December 5, 2016
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RELATED WORKS
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CITATIONS
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IMAGES