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)
Entrance to Harcourt Photography Studio, 1950

Gordon Parks

Entrance to Harcourt Photography Studio, 1950

Sale Date: June 21, 2022

Auction Closed

New York, New York. Street scene on lower..., 1943

Gordon Parks

New York, New York. Street scene on lower..., 1943

Sale Date: May 11, 2022

Auction Closed

Music - That Lordly Power, 1993

Gordon Parks

Music - That Lordly Power, 1993

Sale Date: April 13, 2022

Auction Closed

American Gothic, Washington D.C., 1942

Gordon Parks

American Gothic, Washington D.C., 1942

Sale Date: April 14, 2022

Auction Closed

Three Boys in Harlem, New York, 1943

Gordon Parks

Three Boys in Harlem, New York, 1943

Sale Date: April 13, 2022

Auction Closed

untitled (Back to Fort Scott), 1950

Gordon Parks

untitled (Back to Fort Scott), 1950

Sale Date: March 12, 2022

Auction Closed

Farm, road, and telephone lines, 1950

Gordon Parks

Farm, road, and telephone lines, 1950

Sale Date: February 10, 2022

Auction Closed

American Gothic, Washington D.C, 1942

Gordon Parks

American Gothic, Washington D.C, 1942

Sale Date: February 10, 2022

Auction Closed

Black History (Group of 5 Farm Security...

Gordon Parks

Black History (Group of 5 Farm Security...

Sale Date: February 9, 2022

Auction Closed

Group of 5 Farm Security Administration , 1942–1943

Gordon Parks

Group of 5 Farm Security Administration , 1942–1943

Sale Date: January 12, 2022

Auction Closed

Marché de la Rue Mouffetard, Paris, 1950

Gordon Parks

Marché de la Rue Mouffetard, Paris, 1950

Sale Date: November 30, 2021

Auction Closed

St. Benedict’s Abbey, 1955

Gordon Parks

St. Benedict’s Abbey, 1955

Sale Date: November 13, 2021

Auction Closed

Mother and Child. Blind River, Ontario, 1955

Gordon Parks

Mother and Child. Blind River, Ontario, 1955

Sale Date: November 13, 2021

Auction Closed

Pastor Ledbetter. Metropolitan Missionary..., 1953

Gordon Parks

Pastor Ledbetter. Metropolitan Missionary..., 1953

Sale Date: November 13, 2021

Auction Closed

Emerging Man (de la série Invisible Man)...., 1952

Gordon Parks

Emerging Man (de la série Invisible Man)...., 1952

Sale Date: November 13, 2021

Auction Closed

Réunion politique. Paris, France, 1951

Gordon Parks

Réunion politique. Paris, France, 1951

Sale Date: November 13, 2021

Auction Closed

Red Jackson (de la série Harlem Gang..., 1948

Gordon Parks

Red Jackson (de la série Harlem Gang..., 1948

Sale Date: November 13, 2021

Auction Closed

Drugstore cowboys. Black Diamond, Alberta,..., 1945

Gordon Parks

Drugstore cowboys. Black Diamond, Alberta,..., 1945

Sale Date: November 13, 2021

Auction Closed

The Fontenelle Family. Ellen’s Feet, Harlem, , 1967

Gordon Parks

The Fontenelle Family. Ellen’s Feet, Harlem, , 1967

Sale Date: November 13, 2021

Auction Closed

The Fontenelle Family. Bessie and little..., 1967

Gordon Parks

The Fontenelle Family. Bessie and little..., 1967

Sale Date: November 13, 2021

Auction Closed

The Fontenelle Family. Barefoot Rosie..., 1967

Gordon Parks

The Fontenelle Family. Barefoot Rosie..., 1967

Sale Date: November 13, 2021

Auction Closed

Norman Jr. Fontanelle endormi, Harlem, New..., 1967

Gordon Parks

Norman Jr. Fontanelle endormi, Harlem, New..., 1967

Sale Date: November 13, 2021

Auction Closed

Muhammad Ali in Training. Miami Beach, 1966

Gordon Parks

Muhammad Ali in Training. Miami Beach, 1966

Sale Date: November 13, 2021

Auction Closed

Les poings de Muhammad Ali. Londres, 1966

Gordon Parks

Les poings de Muhammad Ali. Londres, 1966

Sale Date: November 13, 2021

Auction Closed

English (US)

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