Carl Van Vechten collection
VAN VECHTEN, CARL. Collection of 21 photographic portraits
New York, 1930s-1950s
21 gelatin silver prints, some duplicates. Various sizes from 5 x 6 ½ in. to 7 ½ x 9 in. Mainly in very good condition, a few creases and stains, signs of mounting on some versos. Most with Van Vechten’s stamp.
This is a wonderful collection of portraits by noted photographer, critic, and author Carl Van Vechten. These portraits of New Yorkers in the Van Vechten circle include Van Vechten himself (marked on verso “self portrait”), Gilbert and Amanda Seldes, Eddie Wasserman, Mildred Whitehall, actor and drama coach Rita Romilly Benson and her husband Martin Benson (both individually and as a couple), Monroe Hall (a friend of E.E. Cummings, whom he knew through his sister Amanda Hall Seldes), and Van Vechten’s mentee, photographer and artist Max Ewing.
“Beginning in 1932, in the studio in his New York City apartment, Van Vechten photographed many of the most famous and influential figures of his day as well as up-and-comers and artistic outliers. As a promoter of literary talent and a critic of dance, theater, and opera, Carl Van Vechten was as interested in the cultural margin as he was in the day’s most acclaimed and successful people. His diverse subjects give a sense of both Carl Van Vechten’s interests and his considerable role in defining the cultural landscape of the twentieth century” (Beinecke Library).
Provenance: Broadway star Marian Seldes (1928-2014). Her father Gilbert Seldes was an influential critic who promoted American popular culture as worthy of serious study and criticism. Seldes and his wife Amanda are seen in several of these photographs.
$15,000