- unitid
-
{"value"=>"532687", "type"=>"local_mss"}
{"value"=>"Sc Photo Morgan and Marvin Smith photographs", "type"=>"local_call"}
{"value"=>"b23943338", "type"=>"local_b"}
- unitdate
-
{"value"=>"1895-2003", "type"=>"inclusive", "normal"=>"1895/2003"}
- unittitle
-
{"value"=>"Morgan and Marvin Smith photographs"}
- physdesc
-
{"format"=>"structured", "physdesc_components"=>[{"name"=>"extent", "value"=>"47 boxes.", "unit"=>"containers"}, {"name"=>"extent", "value"=>"12.12 linear feet", "unit"=>"linear_feet"}]}
{"format"=>"structured", "physdesc_components"=>[{"name"=>"extent", "value"=>"Approximately 26,000 photographic prints", "unit"=>"photographic_prints"}]}
{"format"=>"structured", "physdesc_components"=>[{"name"=>"extent", "value"=>"Approximately 50 photographs", "unit"=>"photographs"}, {"name"=>"physfacet", "value"=>"35mm negatives (rolls of film)"}]}
{"format"=>"structured", "physdesc_components"=>[{"name"=>"extent", "value"=>"Approximately 2,000 photographic slides", "unit"=>"photographic_slides"}, {"name"=>"physfacet", "value"=>"35mm color"}]}
{"format"=>"structured", "physdesc_components"=>[{"name"=>"extent", "value"=>"Approximately 1,500 photographs", "unit"=>"photographs"}, {"name"=>"physfacet", "value"=>"medium format black and white negatives"}]}
{"format"=>"structured", "physdesc_components"=>[{"name"=>"extent", "value"=>"Approximately 60 photographs", "unit"=>"photographs"}, {"name"=>"physfacet", "value"=>"color transparencies"}]}
{"format"=>"structured", "physdesc_components"=>[{"name"=>"extent", "value"=>"1 Photograph Album", "unit"=>"Photograph Albums"}]}
- repository
-
{"value"=>"<span class=\"corpname\">Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, Photographs and Prints Division</span>"}
- abstract
-
{"value"=>"Morgan (1910-1993) and Marvin Smith (1910-2003) were Black photographers who ran a photography studio in New York City. Their collection contains prints, slides, negatives, and transparencies of their creative output as artists and photographers. Their documentary and studio photographs depict Harlem residents, the nightclub scene, social and political events, and street scenes in the 1930s through the 1950s."}
- langmaterial
-
{"value"=>"English"}
- origination
-
{"value"=>"Morgan and Marvin Smith (Photographers)", "type"=>"corpname"}
- bioghist
-
{"value"=>"<p>Versions of this biographical note appeared in two collections located at the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture: the Morgan and Marvin Smith Papers (Sc MG 757) and the Morgan and Marvin Smith audio and moving image collection located at the Moving Image and Recorded Sound Division (Sc MIRS Smith 2005-32). Additional biographical information was found in the Morgan and Marvin Smith collection in the New York Public Library Digital Collections.</p> <p>Morgan Smith (1910-1993) and Marvin Smith (1910-2003) were Black identical twins who worked in Harlem as photographers and artists. They were born in Nicholasville, Kentucky, but in 1933 moved to New York City, after a brief period in Cincinnati, Ohio. The Smith brothers established themselves in Harlem and studied art with Augusta Savage. They exhibited their work in Greenwich Village before they found work with the Civil Works Administration (CWA), later called the Works Progress Administration (WPA). Marvin was a successful award-winning painter, and Morgan assisted artist Vertis Hayes on the murals for the Harlem Hospital Nurses' Residence.</p> <p>Morgan Smith won an honorable mention in the <span class=\"title\">New York Herald Tribune</span>'s national photography contest in 1937, which led to his hire as the first staff photographer for the <span class=\"title\">New York Amsterdam News</span>, a position he held until 1939. That same year, the brothers opened a photography studio, which they called the M. Smith Studio, located at 141 West 125th Street. A year later, they moved the studio to 243 West 125th, neighboring the Apollo Theatre, where it was frequented by performing artists, writers, historians, and other Harlem community members. While operating the M. Smith Studio, the Smiths photographed many prominent Black figures in politics and the arts.</p> <p>During the 1930s and 1940s, the Smiths covered events and neighborhoods in New York City. Their photojournalism was often submitted to various magazines around the country, including <span class=\"title\">Color</span>, <span class=\"title\">Ebony</span>, <span class=\"title\">Life</span>, and <span class=\"title\">Opportunity</span>; a number of their photographs also appeared on the covers. In addition to their work for newspapers and magazines, the Smith brothers' photo studio was used for commercial and fashion photography. The Smiths also made a living photographing weddings.</p> <p>In 1942, Marvin enlisted in the Navy with the Seabees; the following year, he became the first African American to be admitted to the Naval Air Station School of Photography and Motion Picture Camera in Pensacola, Florida. He served as Chief Photographer's Mate in the South Pacific. After leaving the Navy, Marvin studied art in Paris with Fernand Léger between 1950 and 1952.</p> <p>By 1954, both Smith brothers shifted their careers towards the television and film industry, Morgan worked for ABC and Marvin for NBC. Additionally, Morgan served as the sound mixer for the television series <span class=\"title\">The Truman Story</span> (1963), and Marvin worked on the set of the movie <span class=\"title\">Purlie Victorious</span> (1961). Despite no longer working as professional photographers, they finally closed their photo studio in 1968, and retired from their film and television positions in 1974.</p> <p>In their seventies, the Smith brothers resumed an interest in needlework crafts. Several major exhibitions have featured the photographs and artwork by Morgan and Marvin Smith. They were also the focus of the 1995 documentary <span class=\"title\">M & M Smith: For Posterity's Sake</span>. A book of their photography, <span class=\"title\">Harlem: The Vision of Morgan and Marvin Smith</span>, was published in 1997.</p> <p>Morgan died of cancer in 1993. Marvin died at age 93 in 2003.</p>"}
- scopecontent
-
{"value"=>"<p>The Morgan and Marvin Smith photographs contain prints and negatives related to the Smith brothers' careers as photographers and artists. Photographs in the collection are primarily from the 1930s through the 1950s and capture the Harlem nightclub scene, social and political events, street scenes, and the activities of Harlem residents. Also present are photographs of the Smith family from the 1890s to 2003.</p> <p>The collection contains images and reproductions of the Smiths' artwork, including paintings, sculptures, and textile works. The collection also holds photographs of other artists' work.</p> <p>The Smiths' personal lives are illustrated through photographs with friends and family. There are pictures of the Smith brothers as children, as well as their extended family in Kentucky in the 1890s through the 1920s. Also present are photographs Marvin took while stationed in the Navy, many in the South Pacific.</p> <p>While the Smiths were working photographers in the 1930s and 1940s, they photographed many prominent Black figures, especially in the Harlem area. The images of personalities include professional portraits as well as candid images. Individuals the Smiths photographed include Nat King Cole, Duke Ellington, Ella Fitzgerald, W. C. Handy, Eartha Kitt, Adam Clayton Powell Jr., and the boxer Joe Louis. Individuals are listed in the container list.</p> <p>Photojournalism includes images the Smiths took during through the 1930s and 1950s when they covered events and neighborhoods in New York City. The images depict performances and audience of the Apollo Theater and the Harlem nightclub scene in general. They were also interested in documenting Black workers and organizations, including the first Black policeman, first Black woman juror, and the first Black woman streetcar driver.</p> <p>The photographs filed with the Smiths' professional work include commercial and fashion shoots, nature, television and film sets, weddings, and publicity shots of the brothers working in the M. Studio.</p> <p>The studio portraits comprise professional portraits that the Smiths took in New York City, particularly Harlem. While some of the people depicted are identified, the majority of these studio portraits are of unidentified Black families and individuals.</p>"}
- arrangement
-
{"value"=>"<p>Photographs are arranged topically into artworks, friends and family, personalities, photojournalism, professional work, and studio portraits.</p>"}
- acqinfo
-
{"value"=>"<p>Gift of Monica P. Smith, August 2004 and November 2005.</p>"}
- separatedmaterial
-
{"value"=>"<p>See the Manuscripts, Archives, and Rare Books Division for the Morgan and Marvin Smith papers, Sc MG 757.</p> <p>See the Moving Image and Recorded Sound Division for the Morgan and Marvin Smith audio and moving image collection, Sc MIRS Smith 2005-32.</p>"}
- processinfo
-
{"value"=>"<p>Processed by <span class=\"name\">Emily P. Dunne</span> in <span class=\"date\">2026</span>.</p>"}
- accessrestrict
-
{"value"=>"<p>Boxes 40-47 contain negatives, transparencies, and slides.</p>"}
- date_start
-
1895
- keydate
-
1895
- date_end
-
2003
- date_inclusive_start
-
1895
- date_inclusive_end
-
2003
- extent_statement
-
12.12 linear feet (47 boxes.). Approximately 26,000 photographic prints. Approximately 50 photographs : 35mm negatives (rolls of film). Approximately 2,000 photographic slides : 35mm color. Approximately 1,500 photographs : medium format black and white negatives. Approximately 60 photographs : color transparencies. 1 Photograph Album
- prefercite
-
{"value"=>"Morgan and Marvin Smith photographs, Photographs and Prints Division. Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, The New York Public Library"}