Morgan and Marvin Smith photographs

1895-2003 D

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.

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.

Morgan Smith won an honorable mention in the New York Herald Tribune's national photography contest in 1937, which led to his hire as the first staff photographer for the New York Amsterdam News, 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.

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 Color, Ebony, Life, and Opportunity; 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.

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.

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 The Truman Story (1963), and Marvin worked on the set of the movie Purlie Victorious (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.

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 M & M Smith: For Posterity's Sake. A book of their photography, Harlem: The Vision of Morgan and Marvin Smith, was published in 1997.

Morgan died of cancer in 1993. Marvin died at age 93 in 2003.