[Detail] Portrait of Ella Fitzgerald by Carl Van Vechten 
About this image
Collection Overview
Creative Americans: Portraits by Van Vechten, 1932-1964, features portraits of famous literary figures, artists, and celebrities, many of whom were prominent in the Harlem Renaissance of the 1920s and 1930s. The collection includes portraits of Salvador Dali, William Faulkner, Dizzy Gillespie, Langston Hughes, Zora Neale Hurston, Mahalia Jackson, Leontyne Price, Man Ray, and hundreds of others.
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Historical Eras
These historical era(s) are best represented in the collection, although they may not be all-encompassing.
- The Great Depression and World War II, 1929-1945
- Postwar United States, 1945-early 1970s
Related Collections and Exhibits
These collections and exhibits contain thematically-related primary and secondary sources. Browse the Collection Finder for more related material on the American Memory Web site.
- African American Odyssey
- American Life Histories, 1936-1940
- Architecture and Interior Design for 20th Century America, 1935-1955
- California Gold: Folk Music from the Thirties, 1938-1940
- FSA/OWI Photographs, 1935-1945
- The New Deal Stage: Federal Theater Project, 1935-1939
- Photographs from the Golden Age of Jazz
- Washington As It Was, 1923-1959
- Words and Deeds in American History
Other Resources
Search Tips
Specific guidance for searching this collection.
The photographs in this collection are indexed by the name of the person photographed. For a list of people pictured in the collection, go to the Creative Americans: Portraits by Van Vechten Subject Index.
For help searching the collection for photographs of writers, artists, musicians, and other occupations, use the Creative Americans: Portraits by Van Vechten Occupational Index.
For help with general search strategies, see Finding Items in American Memory.
Last Updated: 11/02/2009