Exciting news from the James Van Der Zee Archive! 📸 ✨⠀ ⠀ This month, the Historic Landmarks Preservation Center honored Van Der Zee's portrait studio in Harlem with a Cultural Medallion.⠀ ⠀ Located at 272 Lenox Avenue, the legendary studio served as a space for photographer James Van Der Zee to exercise a unique approach to portraiture—using painted backdrops, a range of props, and skillful coloring and etching on his photographs, Van Der Zee provided an empathetic look at the people of Harlem.⠀ ⠀ His studio portraits in conjunction with life photography offer us a delightful and insightful glimpse into the Harlem Renaissance.⠀ ⠀ This past winter, the @metmuseum and @studiomuseum announced the James Van Der Zee Archive—a collaborative initiative to research, conserve, and provide public access to approximately 20,000 prints, 30,000 negatives, studio equipment, and ephemera.⠀ ⠀ Since January, we've partnered to share images from the archive—many of which are never-before-seen photographs, digitized for the first time in history, on Instagram.⠀ ⠀ What's your favorite photograph from the #VanDerZeeArchive so far? Search the hashtag to see all we've posted!⠀ ⠀ 📸 James Van Der Zee's Studio at 272 Lenox Avenue, ca. 1950⠀ 📸 Couple, 1937⠀ 📸 Girl Holding Doll, 1939⠀ 📸 [Musical Quartet], 1950s⠀ 📸 [Woman Singing], 1958⠀ 📸 Woman Seated on Piano Bench, no date