Street Scene with Runners

By the early 1930s, James Van Der Zee’s studio practice was in less demand owing to the stock market crash of 1929 and the growing popularity of personal cameras. Van Der Zee generated income by moving from commissioned work to photo restoration, passport photos, and other miscellaneous photography jobs. Here, a Harlem street scene captures both passersby and two men participating in a race. This candid image is in marked contrast to Van Der Zee’s posed portraits such as On the Town and The Midnight Ramblers.