Harry Holden Adams (1918 – 1985) was an

African-American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American ...

photographer who worked for the '' California Eagle'' and '' Los Angeles Sentinel''.

Life and education

Adams was born in

Arkansas Arkansas ( ) is a landlocked state in the South Central United States. It is bordered by Missouri to the north, Tennessee and Mississippi to the east, Louisiana to the south, and Texas and Oklahoma to the west. Its name is from the Osage ...

to Hunter Adams and Robbie Lee Evans Adams. The Adams family moved to

Santa Ana, California Santa Ana () is the second most populous city and the county seat of Orange County, California. Located in the Greater Los Angeles region of Southern California, the city's population was 310,227 at the 2020 census, making Santa Ana the List of ...

, where they eventually helped establish Johnson Chapel African Methodist Episcopal Church. Adams attended

Santa Ana College Santa Ana College is a public community college in Santa Ana, California. History In 1915, Santa Ana Junior College opened its doors to 25 students as a department of Santa Ana High School. It was the second community college founded in Orange ...

, where he studied music and political science. He worked as a janitor for the Santa Ana Recreation and Park Department while attending Whittier College until he was drafted into the

Army An army (from Old French ''armee'', itself derived from the Latin verb ''armāre'', meaning "to arm", and related to the Latin noun ''arma'', meaning "arms" or "weapons"), ground force or land force is a fighting force that fights primarily on ...

, serving as a

military police Military police (MP) are law enforcement agencies connected with, or part of, the military of a state. In wartime operations, the military police may support the main fighting force with force protection, convoy security, screening, rear recon ...

officer and eventually sergeant until his discharge from

Camp Harahan Camp Harahan, also called Camp Plauche, was a troop staging area outside New Orleans, Louisiana during World War II. The camp served as a staging area for troops passing through the New Orleans Port of Embarkation. Its mission changed to that o ...

in 1946. He then moved to Los Angeles, where he graduated from Moler Barber College and became a security guard for the Los Angeles County Sheriff Department. Four years later, in 1950, he attended the California School of Photography and Graphic Design and the Fred Archer School of Photography, where he earned the nickname "One Shot Harry" for his quick work. He later resigned from the Sheriff's Department to open a barbershop and studio at 4223 Avalon Blvd., which he would move to 4300 South Central in 1971.

Personal life

Adams married Marjorie Harris Adams in 1939 and had two children, a son, born that same year and a daughter, born in 1941. Adams and Harris divorced, and he married Lorraine Proctor in 1956. Adams died from a heart attack in 1985.

Work

Adams' work was known for being "worklike and of-the-moment" but not dramatic or provocative. The ''Los Angeles Times'' said, "His photographs captured everyday life in the city's African-American community. His work also includes images of dignitaries such as Martin Luther King Jr., Malcolm X, a young Tom Bradley, former First Lady

Eleanor Roosevelt Anna Eleanor Roosevelt () (October 11, 1884November 7, 1962) was an American political figure, diplomat, and activist. She was the first lady of the United States from 1933 to 1945, during her husband President Franklin D. Roosevelt's four ...

and many others."

Exhibitions

* ''Black Life: Images of Resistance and Resilience in Southern California''. San Diego Museum of Art. August 24, 2019 – December 1, 2019. * ''Identity and Affirmation: Post War African-American Photography''.

California State University, Northridge California State University, Northridge (CSUN or Cal State Northridge) is a public university in the Northridge neighborhood of Los Angeles, California. With a total enrollment of 38,551 students (as of Fall 2021), it has the second largest un ...

Art Gallery, Pacific Standard Time: Art in L.A., 1945–1980, September 1–December 10, 2011. * ''Harry Adams: Camera & Community''. California African American Museum, Los Angeles, California, March–May 1997.

Collections

Photographic collections of Adams' work are held at

Yale University Yale University is a private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and among the most prestigious in the wo ...

and in the Tom and Ethel Bradley Center at

References

External links

Yale University Archive

Tom and Ethel Bradley Center Archive
{{DEFAULTSORT:Adams, Harry African-American photographers 1918 births 1985 deaths 20th-century African-American people Whittier College alumni American photographers United States Army personnel of World War II