Carl Van Vechten's photographs of 50 noteworthy African Americans are featured in the exhibit "'O, Write My Name': American Portraits, Harlem Heroes," which will be on view March 26-April 30 in Jonathan Edwards College (JE).
"Ralph Waldo Emerson thought that some individuals lived with such purpose, intensity, and commitment that their lives would come to exemplify the grandness and beauty of the human spirit. He called such persons 'Representative' because they stood for the achieved human potential. The faces [in the exhibition] are of men and women who would comport well with Emerson's idea," writes Professor Nathan I. Huggins of Harvard University in a brochure about the travelling educational exhibit, which was organized by the Eakins Press Foundation.
By taking these photographs, Van Vechten "saw himself as celebrating black Americans -- many his personal friends -- in whom he sensed a unique and compelling character. He believed that a camera could communicate their qualities. He sought to create a photographic record," adds Huggins.
The title of the exhibit comes from a spiritual hymn associated with the Underground Railroad that includes the lines "Yes, write my name in the book of life .../ The Angels in the heav'n going-to write my name." The project seeks "to foster a new appreciation of Afro-American cultural and social achievements," according to the Eakins Press Foundation.
Featured in the exhibit are portraits of
25 women and 25 men taken between 1930 and 1960. The portraits themselves were reproduced by hand gravure for the Eakins Press Foundation by Richard Benson, dean and professor of photography at the School of Art, and by Thomas Palmer. Hand gravure is a form of ink printing from copper plates. The plates are etched from film positives made from the original 35 mm negatives and printed on an etching press.
Alongside each image is a literary quotation by or about the subject, and a biographical note. Among the individuals whose portraits are featured are Marian Anderson, James Baldwin, Countee Cullen, Ossie Davis, Ruby Dee, W.E.B. DuBois, Ella Fitzgerald, Althea Gibson, Dizzy Gillespie, Lena Horne, Langston Hughes, Mahalia Jackson, Joe Louis, Leontyne Price, Paul Robeson, Bessie Smith, Fredi Washington, Ethel Waters and Richard Wright.
The public is invited to attend a reception marking the opening of the exhibit, which will take place 4:30-6:30 p.m. on Thursday, March 26, in the JE master's house, 70 High St. The show is available for public viewing on Thursdays 4-6 p.m. or by appointment.
Master's teas have been scheduled on three consecutive Thurdays in conjunction with "O, Write My Name." Each will be held at 4 p.m. and is free and open to the public. The schedule follows:
April 9 -- "Paul Robeson's 100th Birthday Party," featuring Danny Beaty '98 of Ezra Stiles College, in the JE common room.
April 16 -- "O, Write ... Opera!," a conversation with Paul Kellogg, general and artistic director of the New York City Opera, in the JE master's house.
April 23 -- "Modern Treasures from the Beinecke Library -- Carl Van Vechten's Heroes and Heroines of Harlem," featuring Richard Benson and Donald C. Gallup, the Elizabeth Wakeman Dwight Curator, retired, of the Collection of American Literature at the Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library, in the JE master's house.
For further information, or to make an appoinment to see the exhibit, call the JE master's office at 432-0380.
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