Carl Van Vechten
was a polymath unparalleled in the history of American arts. Born in Cedar
Rapids, Iowa, in 1880, he was, at various times, the nation's most incisive
and far-seeing arts critic who promoted names as diverse as Gertrude Stein
and Bessie Smith long before it was popular to do so; a notorious socialite
who held legendary parties; a de facto publicist for great forgotten names
including Herman Melville; a best-selling author of scandalous novels; and
one of the most important champions of African-American literature, vital
in advancing the careers of Langston Hughes, Nella Larsen, and Chester
Himes.
In the early 1930s he fixed upon another reinvention when he took up
photography, a pastime that swiftly became an all-consuming passion.
Turning unused space in his sumptuous midtown Manhattan apartment into a
makeshift studio, Van Vechten, for the last thirty years of his life, shot
thousands of portraits of brilliant and beautiful cultural figures who had
helped define the first half of the American Century, from Bill
"Bojangles" Robinson to Truman Capote.
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The first time I read The
Portrait of a Lady by Henry James I was fifteen years old. And
Isabel Archer, so barely formed herself, became a major formative part of
my literary life.
To a young, precocious teenager, Isabel's arrival in England seemed like a
beautiful, verdant dream. To step out onto the vast lawn and be greeted by
an adorable terrier and three appreciative men - one an English Lord! - and
to be deemed interesting . . . why, I could imagine nothing finer. Ah, to
be interesting! Interesting!
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