“Now I am quietly waiting for
the catastrophe of my personality
to seem beautiful again,
and interesting, and modern.”
Frank O’Hara, “Mayakovsky”
Continuing the celebration of the photographer’s birthday today, a selection of Carl Van Vechten’s brilliant color portraits of African American performers: Billie Holiday, Geoffrey Holder, Pearl Bailey, Carmen De Lavallade, Ella Fitzgerald, Joyce Bryant, Harry Belafonte, Ethel Waters, James Earl Jones, and Blanche Dunn.
