false 405733 1 Carl Van Vechten (1880-1964) was a starstruck Midwesterner who led a colorful life, a social butterfly who established himself as a music and theater critic before enjoying success as a novelist in the 1920s. When the Leica revolutionized photography in the early 1930s, the amateur shutterbug embraced the rapid-fire 35mm camera and reinvented himself as a celebrity portraitist. Keith Davis discusses Van Vechten's evocative work in crisp, distinctive prose that is the perfect complement to the artist's dynamic black-and-white images. Gertrude Stein, Bessie Smith, George Gershwin, Frida Kahlo, and Paul Robeson are among the personalities who paraded through his makeshift apartment studio. 395080 1 1993 The Passionate Observer: Photographs by Carl Van Vechten total:4|5:3|4:1| 4 19 8 1 5 0 false false Sat Dec 15 15:20:12 -0800 2007 Sat Dec 15 15:22:42 -0800 2007 more...]]> 4 0 false false Fri Jan 01 00:00:00 -0800 1999 Tue Jun 23 10:40:47 -0700 2009 Mon Jul 06 17:52:54 -0700 2009 5 0 false false Thu Apr 09 20:26:19 -0700 2009 Thu Apr 09 20:26:19 -0700 2009 0 0 false false Tue Jan 27 02:21:11 -0800 2009 Tue Jan 27 02:21:14 -0800 2009 5 0 false false Tue Jul 29 06:39:15 -0700 2008 Tue Jul 29 06:39:15 -0700 2008 0 0 false false Mon Mar 03 19:20:59 -0800 2008 Mon Mar 03 19:20:59 -0800 2008 0 0 false false Sun Jan 27 18:57:14 -0800 2008 Sun Jan 27 18:57:30 -0800 2008 0 0 false false Sun Dec 16 05:56:15 -0800 2007 Sun Dec 16 05:56:21 -0800 2007