Red Jackson, Harlem, New York
The most prominent African-American photographer and journalist of the 1950s and 1960s, Gordon Parks has documented the experiences of under-represented people and communities throughout his career, while simultaneously producing celebrity portraiture, fashion photographs, and news pictures. This image of Harlem gang leader Red Jackson looking pensively out of a broken window at his "turf" is one of a series Parks made for Life magazine in 1948. The photo essay was the first to look closely and soberly at the reality of life in Harlem at mid-century, and, in that respect, anticipates the more strident civil rights exposés by Parks and other photojournalists in the 1960s.
Artwork Details
- Title: Red Jackson, Harlem, New York
- Artist: Gordon Parks (American, Fort Scott, Kansas 1912–2006 New York)
- Date: 1948
- Medium: Gelatin silver print
- Dimensions: Image: 19 1/8 × 15 9/16 in. (48.5 × 39.6 cm)
- Classification: Photographs
- Credit Line: Gift of Photography in the Fine Arts, 1959
- Object Number: 59.559.58
- Rights and Reproduction: Courtesy of and copyright The Gordon Parks Foundation
- Curatorial Department: Photographs
More Artwork
Research Resources
The Met provides unparalleled resources for research and welcomes an international community of students and scholars. The Met's Open Access API is where creators and researchers can connect to the The Met collection. Open Access data and public domain images are available for unrestricted commercial and noncommercial use without permission or fee.
To request images under copyright and other restrictions, please use this Image Request form.
Feedback
We continue to research and examine historical and cultural context for objects in The Met collection. If you have comments or questions about this object record, please complete and submit this form. The Museum looks forward to receiving your comments.