[Close-Up Study of a Man's Face]
DeCarava emerged in the early 1950s as one of the most important visual artists in the African American community. His groundbreaking book “The Sweet Flypaper of Life” (1955), with a text by Langston Hughes, is a poignant, landmark study of street life in Harlem. DeCarava is justly celebrated for his visually dynamic portraits of jazz musicians lost in revery during performances in late night venues. Here, however, in a rare early work from the start of his career, he focuses tightly on the face of a man, approximately his own age.
Artwork Details
- Title: [Close-Up Study of a Man's Face]
- Artist: Roy DeCarava (American, 1919–2009)
- Date: 1949
- Medium: Gelatin silver print
- Dimensions: Image: 9 1/2 × 7 1/2 in. (24.1 × 19.1 cm)
Mount: 9 1/2 in. × 7 1/2 in. (24.1 × 19.1 cm)
Mount: 17 in. × 12 1/2 in. (43.2 × 31.8 cm) - Classification: Photographs
- Credit Line: Purchase, Jade Lau Gift, 2019
- Object Number: 2019.354
- Curatorial Department: Photographs
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