Roy DeCarava

(American, 1919–2009)

Roy DeCarava was a photographer best known for chronicling the daily life of the Black community and famous Jazz musicians in his hometown of Harlem, New York during the Harlem Renaissance. His most famous works include Graduation and John Coltrane, which were both featured in his book “The Sweet Flypaper of Life,” a collaboration with Langston Hughes. DeCarava began his career as a painter, using a camera only to record images to paint later. Becoming aware of the limitations faced by Black painters, he was eventually drawn to the immediacy of photography and shifted gears. DeCarava’s shift to photography was also a response to the Civil Rights Movement, and came from a desire to represent the Black community in an artistic light. “One of the things that got to me was that I felt that Black people were not being portrayed in a serious and in an artistic way,” he told the New York Times in 1982. In 1938, DeCarava was awarded a scholarship to the Cooper Union School of Art. He studied there for two years, before attending the Harlem Community Art Center, where his peers included Romare Bearden, Jacob Lawrence, and Langston Hughes. For his final year, DeCarava attended the George Washington Carver Art School, where he learned alongside the social realist Charles White. Throughout his career, DeCarava combined political commentary with aesthetic beauty. He passed away in Harlem in 2009. In 2019, David Zwirner Books published Light Break, a survey of DeCarava’s work. His photographs can also be seen in the MoMA, the Whitney, and the Smithsonian American Art Museum.

Roy DeCarava News

On View

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Opinion

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Galleries

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Roy DeCarava Artworks

Artworks for Sale &
Auction Results

Roy DeCarava (188 results)
John Coltrane on Soprano, 1963

Roy DeCarava

John Coltrane on Soprano, 1963

Sale Date: April 6, 2018

Auction Closed

Billie Holliday and Hazel Scott, 1957

Roy DeCarava

Billie Holliday and Hazel Scott, 1957

Sale Date: April 6, 2018

Auction Closed

Man Sitting in Cart, NYC, 1966

Roy DeCarava

Man Sitting in Cart, NYC, 1966

Sale Date: April 6, 2018

Auction Closed

Dizzy Gillespie and Roy Eldridge

Roy DeCarava

Dizzy Gillespie and Roy Eldridge

Sale Date: February 15, 2018

Auction Closed

Dancers, 1956

Roy DeCarava

Dancers, 1956

Sale Date: October 19, 2017

Auction Closed

Man smoking cigar on trashcan, 1978

Roy DeCarava

Man smoking cigar on trashcan, 1978

Sale Date: October 19, 2017

Auction Closed

Dancers, 1956

Roy DeCarava

Dancers, 1956

Sale Date: October 5, 2017

Auction Closed

Man standing on street corner, 1948

Roy DeCarava

Man standing on street corner, 1948

Sale Date: October 2, 2017

Auction Closed

Couple talking, subway platform, 1952

Roy DeCarava

Couple talking, subway platform, 1952

Sale Date: October 2, 2017

Auction Closed

Face out of focus, 1960

Roy DeCarava

Face out of focus, 1960

Sale Date: October 2, 2017

Auction Closed

Hallway, New York, 1953

Roy DeCarava

Hallway, New York, 1953

Sale Date: October 3, 2017

Auction Closed

Billie Holiday and Hazel Scott at a Party, 1957

Roy DeCarava

Billie Holiday and Hazel Scott at a Party, 1957

Sale Date: October 3, 2017

Auction Closed

Edna Smith, 1955

Roy DeCarava

Edna Smith, 1955

Sale Date: October 3, 2017

Auction Closed

Metropole cafe (from New York 19), 1960

Roy DeCarava

Metropole cafe (from New York 19), 1960

Sale Date: April 26, 2017

Auction Closed

Lonely Woman [with child] (from New York 19), 1960

Roy DeCarava

Lonely Woman [with child] (from New York 19), 1960

Sale Date: April 26, 2017

Auction Closed

Lonely Woman [on bus] (from New York 19), 1960

Roy DeCarava

Lonely Woman [on bus] (from New York 19), 1960

Sale Date: April 26, 2017

Auction Closed

Catsup Bottles, Table and Coat, New York, 1952

Roy DeCarava

Catsup Bottles, Table and Coat, New York, 1952

Sale Date: April 3, 2017

Auction Closed

George Morrow, 1956

Roy DeCarava

George Morrow, 1956

Sale Date: April 4, 2017

Auction Closed

Man Coming Up Subway Stairs, 1952

Roy DeCarava

Man Coming Up Subway Stairs, 1952

Sale Date: April 4, 2017

Auction Closed

Graduation, 1949

Roy DeCarava

Graduation, 1949

Sale Date: February 14, 2017

Auction Closed

Dancers, 1956

Roy DeCarava

Dancers, 1956

Sale Date: February 14, 2017

Auction Closed

HALLWAY, 1953

Roy DeCarava

HALLWAY, 1953

Sale Date: October 7, 2016

Auction Closed

Arnette, New York, 1957

Roy DeCarava

Arnette, New York, 1957

Sale Date: October 6, 2016

Auction Closed

Adolescent (Close Up), 1949

Roy DeCarava

Adolescent (Close Up), 1949

Sale Date: October 6, 2016

Auction Closed

English (US)

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