Today is the 132nd birthday of the photographer James Van Der Zee. His most popular and famous works are his portraits of the residents of Harlem between the wars. Those photographs of every day people are my favorites as well. The world is a better place because he was in it and still feels the loss that he has left.

NAME: James Van Der Zee
OCCUPATION: Photographer
BIRTH DATE: June 29, 1886
DEATH DATE: May 15, 1983
PLACE OF BIRTH: Lenox, Massachusetts
PLACE OF DEATH: Washington, D.C.

BEST KNOWN FOR: James Van Der Zee was a renowned, Harlem-based photographer known for his posed, storied pictures capturing African-American citizenry and celebrity.

James Augustus Van Der Zee entered the world on June 29, 1886, in Lenox, Massachusetts, the second of six siblings born to Elizabeth and John Van Der Zee. The Van Der…