Roy DeCarava
1919–2009

Introduction

Roy Rudolph DeCarava (December 9, 1919 – October 27, 2009) was an American artist. DeCarava received early critical acclaim for his photography, initially engaging and imaging the lives of African Americans and jazz musicians in the communities where he lived and worked. Over a career that spanned nearly six decades, DeCarava came to be known as a founder in the field of black and white fine art photography, advocating for an approach to the medium based on the core value of an individual, subjective creative sensibility, which was separate and distinct from the "social documentary" style of many predecessors.

Wikidata identifier

Q2475981

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Information from Wikipedia, made available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Accessed October 29, 2024.

Introduction

Roy DeCarava, best known as a photographer, recorded the Harlem in which he grew up. He was trained at the Harlem Community Art Center from 1940-1942, but left to serve in the United States Army as a topographical draftsman in 1943. Then, in 1944-1945 he took classes at the George Washington Carver Art School. DeCarava is best known as a photographer, but he produced a variety of artworks with different mediums.

Country of birth

United States

Roles

Artist, commercial artist, graphic artist, illustrator, lecturer, photographer, professor, sign painter

ULAN identifier

500095793

Names

Roy DeCarava, Roy De Carava, Roy Rudolph DeCarava, Rudolph DeCarava, Rudolph DeaCarava

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Information from the Getty Research Institute's Union List of Artist Names ® (ULAN), made available under the ODC Attribution License. Accessed October 29, 2024.



On the Hour

A 30-second online art project:
Maya Man, A Realistic Day In My Life Living In New York City

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Learn more at whitney.org/artport

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