James VanDerZee American, 1886-1983 Famous for his images of Harlem and its inhabitants, James VanDerZee was born in Lenox, Massachusetts. During his youth, he took portraits of family members and friends, and after various jobs in Lenox and New York City began work in 1911 as a photographic assistant in the portrait studio run by Charles Gertz in Hahne's department store in Newark, New Jersey. From 1912-15 VanDerZee operated a portrait studio in the Toussaint Conservatory of Art and Music, established by his sister Jennie. Two years later VanDerZee opened a studio in Harlem and began making his memorable portraits. During the period of his greatest success, from the years of the Harlem Renaissance (1919-29) until World War II, he photographed the area's large African-American middle class, producing formal portraits of individuals, families, church and school groups, athletic organizations, women's clubs, fraternal organizations, weddings, funerals, and street scenes. He also photographed Harlem's celebrated artists, writers, singers, religious leaders, and politicians. In 1924 VanDerZee became official photographer for Marcus Garvey and the Universal Negro Improvement Association, documenting their conventions, rallies, and parades. He retired in the 1960s, but resumed photography for a brief period before his death. M.M.