Gordon Parks

(American, 1912–2006)

Gordon Parks was a self-taught photographer, writer, composer, and filmmaker. Parks is remembered as the first African-American photographer who worked for Vogue and Life magazines, known for his documentary photojournalism of the 1940s through the 1970s. He captured iconic images of the civil rights movement, investigating important turning points in inner cities around the United States. Along with these charged moments, he also captured candid portraits of artists and musicians including Helen Frankenthaler. “I picked up a camera because it was my choice of weapons against what I hated most about the universe: racism, intolerance, poverty,” he once said. Born on November 30, 1912 in Fort Scott, KS, Parks grew up amidst the injustices of segregation and racist violence. He bought his first camera at the age of 25 at a Seattle pawnshop, and in 1940 moved to Chicago where he developed a portrait business. In 1948, his photographic essay on a Harlem gang leader earned Parks a job as a photographer for Life, where he continued to work until 1972. In addition to his photography, Parks also became a successful filmmaker, directing Shaft, one of the most successful movies of 1971. He also wrote the acclaimed book A Choice of Weapons (1966), a chronicle of his life journey as a photographer. Parks was awarded the American Society of Magazine Photographers’ Photographer of the Year in 1960, the Congress of Racial Equality Lifetime Achievement Award in 2000, as well as over 20 honorary doctorates. The Library of Congress in Washington, D.C. acquired his archive in 1995. He died on March 7, 2006 in New York, NY. Today, the artist’s works are held in the collections of the Art Institute of Chicago, the Cleveland Museum of Art, and the Minneapolis Institute of Art.

Gordon Parks News

Gallery Network

Spotlight: A New Exhibition Looks Back at Gordon Parks’s Seminal Photography

by Artnet Gallery Network
Spotlight: A New Exhibition Looks Back at Gordon Parks’s Seminal Photography
Art & Exhibitions

Alicia Keys and Swizz Beatz Triumph as Art World 'Giants'

by Min Chen
Alicia Keys and Swizz Beatz Triumph as Art World 'Giants'
Politics

'National Geographic' Turned to a Photo Historian to Help Reckon With Its Colonialist Past. Even He Was Unsettled by What He Found

by Ben Davis
'National Geographic' Turned to a Photo Historian to Help Reckon With Its Colonialist Past. Even He Was Unsettled by What He Found

Gordon Parks Artworks

Artworks for Sale &
Auction Results

Gordon Parks (306 results)
Lighthouse, 1945

Gordon Parks

Lighthouse, 1945

Sale Date: December 12, 2013

Auction Closed

Big mama and boy, 1961

Gordon Parks

Big mama and boy, 1961

Sale Date: November 18, 2013

Auction Closed

Old woman, France, 1952

Gordon Parks

Old woman, France, 1952

Sale Date: November 18, 2013

Auction Closed

Pastor E.F. Ledbetter, Metropolitan Baptist..., 1953

Gordon Parks

Pastor E.F. Ledbetter, Metropolitan Baptist..., 1953

Sale Date: November 19, 2013

Auction Closed

Cassius Clay jogging, 1966

Gordon Parks

Cassius Clay jogging, 1966

Sale Date: November 25, 2013

Auction Closed

American Gothic, Washington D.C., 1942

Gordon Parks

American Gothic, Washington D.C., 1942

Sale Date: November 25, 2013

Auction Closed

Shaft, Les Nuits rouges de Harlem, 1971

Gordon Parks

Shaft, Les Nuits rouges de Harlem, 1971

Sale Date: November 7, 2013

Auction Closed

Young child with doll (from The film The..., 1985

Gordon Parks

Young child with doll (from The film The..., 1985

Sale Date: October 17, 2013

Auction Closed

Cowboys in Spain, 1950–1968

Gordon Parks

Cowboys in Spain, 1950–1968

Sale Date: October 17, 2013

Auction Closed

Left Bank, Paris, 1956

Gordon Parks

Left Bank, Paris, 1956

Sale Date: October 3, 2013

Auction Closed

Norman Jr. Fontanelle asleep, Harlem, New York, 1968

Gordon Parks

Norman Jr. Fontanelle asleep, Harlem, New York, 1968

Sale Date: May 24, 2013

Auction Closed

The Welfare office, The Fontanelle Family,..., 1968

Gordon Parks

The Welfare office, The Fontanelle Family,..., 1968

Sale Date: May 24, 2013

Auction Closed

Norman Fontanelle Sr., Harlem, New York, 1968

Gordon Parks

Norman Fontanelle Sr., Harlem, New York, 1968

Sale Date: May 24, 2013

Auction Closed

Paris fashion models, 1950–1968

Gordon Parks

Paris fashion models, 1950–1968

Sale Date: April 18, 2013

Auction Closed

Husband and Wife on Sunday Morning, Fort..., 1949

Gordon Parks

Husband and Wife on Sunday Morning, Fort..., 1949

Sale Date: April 18, 2013

Auction Closed

Children with doll, 1942

Gordon Parks

Children with doll, 1942

Sale Date: April 18, 2013

Auction Closed

Favio de Silva (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil), 1953–1954

Gordon Parks

Favio de Silva (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil), 1953–1954

Sale Date: February 26, 2013

Auction Closed

American Gothic (Ella Watson), Washington, D.C, 1942

Gordon Parks

American Gothic (Ella Watson), Washington, D.C, 1942

Sale Date: February 26, 2013

Auction Closed

Children with doll, 1942

Gordon Parks

Children with doll, 1942

Sale Date: February 26, 2013

Auction Closed

Harlem, New York City (from Profile of..., 1948

Gordon Parks

Harlem, New York City (from Profile of..., 1948

Sale Date: February 14, 2013

Auction Closed

Pastor E.F. Ledbetter, Sr., Metropolitan..., 1953

Gordon Parks

Pastor E.F. Ledbetter, Sr., Metropolitan..., 1953

Sale Date: December 13, 2012

Auction Closed

The Bridge, 1958

Gordon Parks

The Bridge, 1958

Sale Date: December 7, 2012

Auction Closed

Society Women, 1949

Gordon Parks

Society Women, 1949

Sale Date: November 17, 2012

Auction Closed

Muhammad Ali, 1970

Gordon Parks

Muhammad Ali, 1970

Sale Date: October 2, 2012

Auction Closed

English (US)

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