Object Details
- Artist
- Carl Van Vechten, 17 Jun 1880 - 21 Dec 1964
- Sitter
- Zora Neale Hurston, 1891 - 28 Jan 1960
- Exhibition Label
- Born Notasulga, Alabama
- Like the protagonist in her classic 1937 novel, Their Eyes Were Watching God, Zora Neale Hurston was shaped by her experience in Florida. She grew up in Eatonville, one of the earliest self-governed African American towns in the United States. With a degree in anthropology, she returned to the Sunshine State to document folktales for her landmark nonfiction book, Mules and Men (1935). Hurston wrote across genres, often highlighting rural, southern Black culture.
- An accomplished member of the Harlem Renaissance (c. 1918–37), the period of Black creativity and thought centered in New York City, Hurston, nevertheless, passed away with little fanfare. Alice Walker, the acclaimed author of The Color Purple (1982), was inspired by Hurston and traveled to Florida. Upon finding her gravesite damaged and unmarked, Walker purchased a headstone proclaiming Hurston “A Genius of the South.”
- Nacida en Notasulga, Alabama
- Al igual que la protagonista de su ya clásica novela de 1937, Sus ojos miraban a Dios, Zora Neale Hurston se vio influida por sus experiencias en Florida. Creció en Eatonville, uno de los primeros pueblos afroamericanos con gobierno propio en EE.UU. Ya graduada de antropología, regresó a Florida a fin de documentar leyendas para su trascendental libro de no ficción, Mulas y hombres (1935). Hurston abordó diversos géneros, destacando la cultura rural negra del sur del país.
- Pese a ser una distinguida integrante del Renacimiento de Harlem (c. 1918–37), época de auge creativo afroamericano centrado en Nueva York, la muerte de Hurston pasó si gran pompa. Alice Walker, aclamada autora de El color púrpura (1982) y admiradora de Hurston, viajó a Florida y buscó su tumba. Al encontrarla deteriorada y sin identificar, encargó una lápida que declara a Hurston “un genio del sur”.
- Credit Line
- National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution
- 1935 (printed 1983)
- Object number
- NPG.83.188.24
- Restrictions & Rights
- Usage conditions apply
- Copyright
- 1935 negative © Carl Van Vechten Trust
- Gravure and compilation ©The Eakins Press Foundation
- Type
- Photograph
- Medium
- Photogravure
- Dimensions
- Image: 22.6 × 15 cm (8 7/8 × 5 7/8")
- Sheet: 55.8 × 35.6 cm (21 15/16 × 14")
- Mat: 61 × 40.7 cm (24 × 16")
- See more items in
- National Portrait Gallery Collection
- Exhibition
- The Struggle for Justice Refresh
- On View
- NPG, West Gallery 220
- National Portrait Gallery
- Topic
- Costume\Jewelry\Necklace
- Interior
- Costume\Headgear\Hat
- Costume\Dress Accessory\Belt
- Zora Neale Hurston: Female
- Zora Neale Hurston: Arts and Culture\Literature\Writer\Novelist
- Zora Neale Hurston: Arts and Culture\Education and Scholarship\Scholar\Folklorist
- Portrait
- Record ID
- npg_NPG.83.188.24
- GUID (Link to Original Record)
- http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/sm4d9dfd216-bc9a-427f-aeff-9d1d2711ad70
