Born June 17, 1880

Cedar Rapids, Iowa

Died December 21, 1964

New York, New York

American literary and music critic, novelist, photographer, and patron of the Harlem Renaissance

Carl Van Vechten. (Photograph by Carl Van Vechten. The Estate of Carl Van Vechten. Reproduced by permission.)

"Like Van Vechten, start inspectin'..."

From Andy Razaf's hit 1930 song, "Go Harlem"

Although he is most famous as a participant in the Harlem Renaissance and a white supporter of the period's black writers, artists, and performers, Carl Van Vechten had a lifelong interest in African American culture. A literary and music critic, he wrote numerous reviews of black-authored books and plays, as well as essays designed to introduce the artistic achievements of African Americans to a wider (white) audience. Even though some critics have questioned the motives behind his active role in the Harlem Renaissance (it has been said that he and other...