Bradley

1950 · Best.-Nr. D12002 — c. 1950s. Ephemera. Near Fine. Collection of 23 silver gelatin prints average size 14x9 inches with photographer's notes and studio stamping on the verso. High quality photographs including portraits street scenes candid images of children families and workers. A little light wear along the edges else fine. Bradley Smith was born in New Orleans in 1910. In his early career he worked for several Southern newspapers and did some farm labor organizing; later he became nationally known for his photographs of sharecroppers. In the 1940's he became a photographer for Life magazine and also worked as a freelancer for Time The Saturday Evening Post Vogue American Heritage and Paris Match. He photographed Helen Keller Mahatma Gandhi and Harry S. Truman. But Mr. Smith a lifelong jazz lover took his best-known portraits of Billie Holiday and Louis Armstrong. During the depths of the Depression he came north and worked for several magazines in New York City. There he became one of the central figures in the founding of ASMP. Smith wrote and illustrated 23 books including the popular “A History in Art” series that related a nation’s story through its art works. The series included volumes on Japan China Mexico Spain and the United States. He also wrote about photography and eroticism and he illustrated the autobiography of novelist Henry Miller. unknown books