James Latimer Allen (1907–1977) was a photographer and

portraitist A portrait is a painting, photograph, sculpture, or other artistic representation of a person, in which the face is always predominant. In arts, a portrait may be represented as half body and even full body. If the subject in full body better re ...

known for his images of the

Harlem Renaissance The Harlem Renaissance was an intellectual and cultural revival of African-American music, dance, art, fashion, literature, theater, politics, and scholarship centered in Harlem, Manhattan, New York City, spanning the 1920s and 1930s. At the ti ...

of the 1920s and 1930s.

Biography

Allen was born in New York City, and by the late 1920s he built a photography studio in which many of the elites from the era was photographed. Among the figures he photographed includes

Langston Hughes James Mercer Langston Hughes (February 1, 1901 – May 22, 1967) was an American poet, social activist, novelist, playwright, and columnist from Joplin, Missouri. An early innovator of jazz poetry, Hughes is best known as a leader of the Harl ...

Paul Robeson Paul Leroy Robeson ( ; April 9, 1898 – January 23, 1976) was an American bass-baritone concert artist, actor, professional American football, football player, and activist who became famous both for his cultural accomplishments and for h ...

Alain Locke Alain LeRoy Locke (September 13, 1885 – June 9, 1954) was an American writer, philosopher, and educator. Distinguished in 1907 as the first African American Rhodes Scholar, Locke became known as the philosophical architect—the acknowledged " ...

, and

Carl Van Vechten Carl Van Vechten (; June 17, 1880December 21, 1964) was an American writer and Fine-art photography, artistic photographer who was a patron of the Harlem Renaissance and the literary estate, literary executor of Gertrude Stein. He gained fame ...

Artistic work

According to ''

New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'' art critic William Zimmer, Allen's work helped "underscored the emergence" of "

The New Negro ''The New Negro: An Interpretation'' (1925) is an anthology of fiction, poetry, and essays on African and African-American art and literature edited by Alain Locke, who lived in Washington, DC, and taught at Howard University during the Harl ...

" philosophy of the time. His work showed a "purposeful uniformity" that he believed captured this idea of an upper-class, well-educated African American. All of his subjects were well dressed, and photographed with a soft focus, similar to that of portraits of intelligentsia at that time. These images were called portraits of distinction, and featured important figures to the

such as

and

Countee Cullen Countee Cullen (born Countee LeRoy Porter; May 30, 1903 – January 9, 1946) was an American poet, novelist, children's writer, and playwright, particularly well known during the Harlem Renaissance. Early life Childhood Countee LeRoy Porter ...

. Allen's work appeared in several popular publications by proponents and supporters of the Harlem Renaissance movement, such as ''

The Opportunity ''The Opportunity'' is a Caroline era stage play, a comedy written by James Shirley, published in 1640. The play has been called "a capital little comedy, fairly bubbling over with clever situations, and charming character." ''The Opportunity' ...

'', '' The Messenger'', and ''

The Crisis ''The Crisis'' is the official magazine of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP). It was founded in 1910 by W. E. B. Du Bois (editor), Oswald Garrison Villard, J. Max Barber, Charles Edward Russell, Kelly M ...

''. He was featured in the 1930s film '' A Study of Negro Artists'', along with

Richmond Barthé James Richmond Barthé, also known as Richmond Barthé (January 28, 1901 – March 5, 1989) was an African Americans, African-American sculptor associated with the Harlem Renaissance. Barthé is best known for his portrayal of black subjects. The ...

, Aaron Douglas,

Palmer Hayden Palmer C. Hayden (born Peyton Cole Hedgeman; January 15, 1890 – February 18, 1973) was an American painter who depicted African-American life, landscapes, seascapes, and African influences. He sketched, painted in both oils and watercolo ...

, William Ellisworth Artis, Malvin Gray Johnson,

Augusta Savage Augusta Savage (born Augusta Christine Fells; February 29, 1892 – March 27, 1962) was an American sculptor associated with the Harlem Renaissance. She was also a teacher whose studio was important to the careers of a generation of artists who w ...

Lois Mailou Jones Lois Mailou Jones (1905–1998) was an artist and Teacher, educator. Her work can be found in the collections of the Smithsonian American Art Museum, Metropolitan Museum of Art, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, the National Museum of Women in the ...

, and

Georgette Seabrooke Georgette Seabrooke (aka Georgette Seabrooke Powell; August 2, 1916 – December 27, 2011), was an American muralist, artist, illustrator, art therapist, non-profit chief executive and educator. She is best known for her 1936 mural, ''Recreation ...

, and others. According to Camara Dia Holloway author of "Allen, James Latimer" records show Allen enlisted in World War 2.

Posthumous publicity

His work was exhibited in

Yale University Art Gallery The Yale University Art Gallery (YUAG) is an art museum in New Haven, Connecticut. It houses a major encyclopedic collection of art in several interconnected buildings on the campus of Yale University. Although it embraces all cultures and period ...

in 1999. He was awarded a $50 commission prize by the

Harmon Foundation The Harmon Foundation, established in 1921 by white real-estate developer William E. Harmon (1862–1928), is best known for funding and collecting the work of African-American artists. History The Harmon Foundation was established as "a medium th ...

for his work in photography as a Negro artist. The show in 1933, however, was said to not be very representative of the work being done nationwide by Negro artists.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Allen, James Latimer 1907 births 1977 deaths African-American photographers 20th-century American photographers Harlem Renaissance 20th-century African-American artists