Van Vechten, Carl

Van Vechten, Carl (văn vĕk`tən), 1880–1964, American music critic, novelist, and photographer, b. Cedar Rapids, Iowa, grad. Univ. of Chicago, 1903. While he was a leading music critic in New York City, he wrote The Music of Spain (1918) and other critical works. At 40 he began writing novels, the best known of which, written in the sophisticated style of the 1920s, are Peter Whiffle (1922), The Tattooed Countess (1924), Nigger Heaven (1926), and Spider Boy (1928). After completing his autobiographical Sacred and Profane Memories (1932), he turned to photography and distinguished himself in that field. Van Vechten was well known for his interest in African-American culture and his efforts to promote better interracial relations.

Bibliography

See Remember Me to Harlem: The Letters of Langston Hughes and Carl Van Vechten (2001), ed. by E. Bernard.

---

Van Vechten, Carl (1880–1966) writer, photographer; born in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. He studied at the University of Chicago (1899–1903), and worked for the Chicago American newspaper (1903–06). He moved to New York City and became a music critic, then Paris correspondent for the New York Times (1908–09). A longtime friend of Gertrude Stein, he became friendly with many of her circle. He wrote novels about life in New York City such as Nigger Heaven (1926), a work that renewed interest in the cultural life of African-Americans during the Harlem Renaissance of the 1920s. He also became an accomplished photographer in the 1930s, specializing in documentary portraits.