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)
Alberto Giacometti entouré de ses..., 1951

Gordon Parks

Alberto Giacometti entouré de ses..., 1951

Sale Date: November 14, 2020

Auction Closed

Le mannequin Français Sophie Malgat..., 1950

Gordon Parks

Le mannequin Français Sophie Malgat..., 1950

Sale Date: November 14, 2020

Auction Closed

Vue du salon de l’automobile au Grands Palais., 1950

Gordon Parks

Vue du salon de l’automobile au Grands Palais., 1950

Sale Date: November 14, 2020

Auction Closed

Les danseurs Renée (Zizi) Jeanmaire et..., 1949

Gordon Parks

Les danseurs Renée (Zizi) Jeanmaire et..., 1949

Sale Date: November 14, 2020

Auction Closed

Black Muslims Rally. Harlem, New York, 1963

Gordon Parks

Black Muslims Rally. Harlem, New York, 1963

Sale Date: November 13, 2020

Auction Closed

Place de la Concorde, Paris, 1950

Gordon Parks

Place de la Concorde, Paris, 1950

Sale Date: October 6, 2020

Auction Closed

A Group of Five Photographs of Jazz Muscians , 1943

Gordon Parks

A Group of Five Photographs of Jazz Muscians , 1943

Sale Date: August 12, 2020

Auction Closed

James Galanos Fashion, Hollywood, California, 1961

Gordon Parks

James Galanos Fashion, Hollywood, California, 1961

Sale Date: June 25, 2020

Auction Closed

Untitled, New York, N.Y, 1956

Gordon Parks

Untitled, New York, N.Y, 1956

Sale Date: June 25, 2020

Auction Closed

Emerging Man, Harlem, New York (from..., 1952

Gordon Parks

Emerging Man, Harlem, New York (from..., 1952

Sale Date: June 3, 2020

Auction Closed

Bettina Graziani, 1950

Gordon Parks

Bettina Graziani, 1950

Sale Date: October 17, 2019

Auction Closed

Two boys reading, 1940

Gordon Parks

Two boys reading, 1940

Sale Date: October 17, 2019

Auction Closed

3 Photographs of the Pittsburgh Grease Plant , 1944

Gordon Parks

3 Photographs of the Pittsburgh Grease Plant , 1944

Sale Date: October 4, 2019

Auction Closed

A Group of Seven Photographs of Duke..., 1943

Gordon Parks

A Group of Seven Photographs of Duke..., 1943

Sale Date: September 18, 2019

Auction Closed

Marilyn Monroe (Looking over shoulder), c...., 1959

Gordon Parks

Marilyn Monroe (Looking over shoulder), c...., 1959

Sale Date: June 19, 2019

Auction Closed

Marilyn Monroe, c. 1959, 1959

Gordon Parks

Marilyn Monroe, c. 1959, 1959

Sale Date: June 19, 2019

Auction Closed

Untitled (Out the Window)

Gordon Parks

Untitled (Out the Window)

Sale Date: May 15, 2019

Auction Closed

American Gothic, 1946

Gordon Parks

American Gothic, 1946

Sale Date: May 24, 2019

Auction Closed

Untitled, Los Angeles, California (Barbra..., 1969

Gordon Parks

Untitled, Los Angeles, California (Barbra..., 1969

Sale Date: April 6, 2019

Auction Closed

Alberto Giacometti, Paris, France, 1951

Gordon Parks

Alberto Giacometti, Paris, France, 1951

Sale Date: April 4, 2019

Auction Closed

Children with Doll, 1942

Gordon Parks

Children with Doll, 1942

Sale Date: April 4, 2019

Auction Closed

Children with Doll, 1942

Gordon Parks

Children with Doll, 1942

Sale Date: October 18, 2018

Auction Closed

Untitled, Los Angeles, California (Barbra..., 1969

Gordon Parks

Untitled, Los Angeles, California (Barbra..., 1969

Sale Date: October 12, 2018

Auction Closed

Musicien de rue. Marché. Fleuriste...., 1951

Gordon Parks

Musicien de rue. Marché. Fleuriste...., 1951

Sale Date: June 21, 2018

Auction Closed

English (US)

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