Research Catalog

Léon-Gontran Damas photograph collection

Title: Léon-Gontran Damas photograph collection [graphic].
Author: Damas, Léon-Gontran, 1912-1978.
Publication: 1871-1978.

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Item details
Status	Vol/Date	Format	Access	Call Number	Item Location
Available - Can be used on site. Please visit New York Public Library - Schomburg Center to submit a request in person.	box 4	Still image	Use in library	Sc Photo Léon-Gontran Damas Collection box 4	Schomburg Center - Photographs & Prints
Available - Can be used on site. Please visit New York Public Library - Schomburg Center to submit a request in person.	box 3	Still image	Use in library	Sc Photo Léon-Gontran Damas Collection box 3	Schomburg Center - Photographs & Prints
Available - Can be used on site. Please visit New York Public Library - Schomburg Center to submit a request in person.	box 2	Still image	Use in library	Sc Photo Léon-Gontran Damas Collection box 2	Schomburg Center - Photographs & Prints
Available - Can be used on site. Please visit New York Public Library - Schomburg Center to submit a request in person.	box 1	Still image	Use in library	Sc Photo Léon-Gontran Damas Collection box 1	Schomburg Center - Photographs & Prints

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Additional Authors

Found In

p1tc Damas, Léon-Gontran 1912-1978. Léon-Gontran Damas papers, 1949-1978 (CstRLIN)NYPW90-A41

Description

793 items (1.5 lin. ft., 4 boxes); 26 x 21 cm. and smaller.
88 photographic prints : silver gelatin, b&w ;
138 photographic prints : silver gelatin, b&w ;
136 photographic prints : silver gelatin, b&w ;
180 photographic prints : silver gelatin, b&w ;
94 photographic prints : silver gelatin, b&w ;
2 photographic prints : silver gelatin, b&w ;
46 photographic prints : col. ;
15 photomechanical prints : b&w, some halftone ;
29 photographic postcards : b&w ;
3 instant camera photographs : b&w ;
2 cartes de visite : b&w ;
2 contact sheets : silver gelatin, b&w ;
3 photocopies : col. ;
2 photostats : b&w ;
53 negatives : b&w ;

Subjects

Genre/Form

Portrait photography – 1870-1979.
Group portraits – 1910-1979.
Photographic postcards.
Photograph albums – 1960-1979.
Gelatin silver prints – 1870-1979.
Dye coupler prints – 1960-1979.
Photomechanical prints.
Instant camera photographs.
Contact sheets.
Cartes de visite – 1870-1879.
Photocopies.
Stats.
Reproductions.
Gelatin silver film negatives.

Note

Title devised by cataloger.
Many photographs have photographer's or photography studio's handstamp on verso; some photographs have organizational or copy service handstamp on verso; some images have photographer's name either printed or inscribed on recto. Some photographs bear handwritten notations on verso; some images have typewritten or printed captions attached to either verso or recto. Some items bear inscriptions; some items bear cropping or retouching marks; some items are duplicates.
Some photographs are mounted on paper, some of which bear handwritten captions on recto; some photographs are on mounting boards; some images were formerly contained in photo albums.
Collection contains work by Roy Lewis, Roland L. Freeman, Jean Prevel, G. Fernandez, Scurlock Studios and Val Wilmer, among others.

Terms of Use (note)

Some items are restricted; permission of copyright holder is required for duplication.

Biography (note)

Léon-Gontran Damas, writer, educator and statesman, was born in Cayenne, French Guiana, in 1912.

Linking Entry (note)

Forms part of the Léon-Gontran Damas Papers, 1949-1978.

Call Number

Sc Photo Léon-Gontran Damas Collection

OCLC

NYPG99-F996

Author

Damas, Léon-Gontran, 1912-1978.

Title

Léon-Gontran Damas photograph collection [graphic].

Imprint

1871-1978.

Summary

The Léon-Gontran Damas Photograph Collection depicts some aspects of his personal life and his career as a writer, educator and statesman from the 1940s to 1978. The collection consists of individual and group portraits of Damas, his family and friends, and professional colleagues; views of social events and gatherings, public funerals, and state visits; views of street scenes, landscapes, apartment interiors and artwork; and a group of portraits, some historical, of various artists, musicians and writers. Images from his early life and career are limited.

The personal photographs series includes reproductions of studio portraits from when Damas was nine years old (ca. 1921) and as a young man (n.d); a studio portrait of Damas taken in Paris (ca. 1937); a candid portrait of Damas overlooking Paris shortly after his election as French Guiana's representative to the French Assembly (1945); in a series of headshots taken in Rio de Janiero (1964); candid shots and group portraits from wedding and reception for Damas and Marietta Campos in Paris (1967); a snapshot of the Damases after their arrival in New York (1970); snapshots of the Damases at home relaxing or entertaining guests in Washington, D.C. (early 1970s); and a series of candid shots of Damas in French Guiana (ca. 1975). Also included are views of speakers and mourners at Damas' funeral service at Howard University, and members of his family attending funeral services in Cayenne, French Guiana (1978).

The professional activities series includes views and group portraits depicting Damas' trips to Senegal during 1976, including the 70th birthday celebration of Senegalese President Léopold Sédar Senghor, who was a close friend and writing colleague of Damas; views and group portraits of Damas and Martinican poet Aimé Césaire at a book signing for an edition of Damas's work that combines "Pigments" and "Névralgies," in Fort-de-France, Martinique (1972); and various group portraits and candid shots of Damas either visiting or meeting with African, Caribbean and European dignitaries and diplomats in Washington, D.C. or aborad (1950s-1970s).

The series also depicts events in which Damas participated including the funeral and public funeral procession for French Socialist leader and writer Léon Blum (1950); views of the state visit of Senegalese President Senghor to Washington, D.C. where he is meeting with President Gerald Ford at the White House, touring Howard University, and being honored by Washington, D.C. mayor Walter Washington (1975); and candid shots and group portraits from the first World Festival of Negro Art, in Dakar, Senegal, which include Langston Hughes, Katherine Dunham, Duke Ellington, Hale Woodruff and the Alvin Ailey Dance Company (1966).

The miscellaneous series includes a group of snapshot and candid views of French Guiana (ca. 1950s-1960s) which depict the public buildings and the waterfront of the capital city, Cayenne; assorted dwellings and local industries; damaged buildings and buildings under construction or renovation; and the waters of the Maroni River. Also included are a group of photographic postcards, mostly covering the same time period, which depict Cayenne's public buildings, street scenes, dwellings, and a group of Indian dancers; assorted structures, landscapes and waterfront scenes (probably Guianan); a group portrait taken outside the Kurhaus Restaurant in Wiesbaden, Germany (n.d.); and some views of the Sudan.

A major componant of this series is a group of portraits of artists, authors, musicians and other professionals of African descent. These individuals, who are mostly men, include both historical and contemporary African-Americans, French, Afro-Brazilian, Afro-Cuban and African figures. Among those depicted are writers Owen V. Dodson, Paul Laurence Dunbar and Ann Petry; political activist C.L.R. James; historian Carter G. Woodson; entertainer Eusebia Cosmé; and photographic reproductions of paintings by Betsy Graves Reyneau of Alain Locke and Richmond Barté. Also included are candid views of poet Langston Hughes in Senegal (ca. 1966) and of playwright Arthur Miller, the president of a writers' group called the Pen Club, at a club gathering in Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire (1967). Other miscellaneous images include views of an unidentified Brazilian theatrical and musical group performing (n.d.); reproductions of illustrations and African sculptures; interior views of Damas' apartment in Paris; and views of nightclubs including the Sugarcane Club in Paris (1955).

Terms Of Use

Some items are restricted; permission of copyright holder is required for duplication.

Biography

Léon-Gontran Damas, writer, educator and statesman, was born in Cayenne, French Guiana, in 1912. His career as a writer and journalist began in Paris during the 1930s, during which he helped to co-found the Negritude literary movement with poet Aimé Césaire and writer Léopold Sédar Senghor. His first volume of poetry, "Pigments," was published in 1937. In the 1940s he was a member of the French Resistance during World War II, served as French Guiana's representative to the French Parliament, and was appointed to the High Court of Justice. During the 1950s and 1960s, he studied the influence of African culture on the New World by lecturing and touring in the Caribbean and Latin America. In 1970, Damas was appointed Distinguished Visiting Professor at Howard University, Washington, D.C., where he served until his death in 1978.

Linking Entry

Forms part of the Léon-Gontran Damas Papers, 1949-1978.

Local Note

Sc MG 302

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Added Author

Fernand-Bibas. Photographer

Fernández, G. Photographer

Fissier, P. Photographer

Freeman, Roland L., 1936- Photographer

Lewis, Roy. Photographer

Normand, L. Photographer

Prevel, Jean. Photographer

Roy-Camille, Paul. Photographer

Wilmer, Valerie. Photographer

Arquivo de O Globo.

Scurlock (Washington, D.C.)

Studio Gora Seck (Dakar, Senegal)

Found In:

p1tc Damas, Léon-Gontran 1912-1978. Léon-Gontran Damas papers, 1949-1978 (CstRLIN)NYPW90-A41

Research Call Number

Sc Photo Léon-Gontran Damas Collection

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