Prentice Herman Polk (November 25, 1898 – December 29, 1984) was an American photographer known for his portraits of

African American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...

s. He also served for several years as head of the

Tuskegee Institute Tuskegee University (Tuskegee or TU), formerly known as the Tuskegee Institute, is a private, historically black land-grant university in Tuskegee, Alabama. It was founded on Independence Day in 1881 by the state legislature. The campus was de ...

's Department of Photography.

Early life

Prentice Herman Polk was born on November 25, 1898, in

Bessemer, Alabama Bessemer is a southwestern suburb of Birmingham in Jefferson County, Alabama, United States. The population was 26,019 at the 2020 census. It is within the Birmingham- Hoover, AL Metropolitan Statistical Area, of which Jefferson County is the ...

,Washington, Anthony
"Polk, Prentice Herman (1898-1985)"
''The Black Past''. one of four children of Jacob Prentice Polk and Christine Romelia Ward. Originally named Herman Polk, he adopted his father's given name after his death and was known as P. H. In 1916, he enrolled at the

intending to become a painter. His plans changed when he heard photographer C. M. Battey—who headed Tuskegee's Photography Department from 1916 to 1927—talk about the potential of that field and encourage interested students to come see him. After speaking with Battey, Polk went on to study photography with him by correspondence. In 1924, Polk moved to

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

, Illinois, where he furthered his studies with a white photographer, Fred A. Jensen. Polk married Margaret Blanche Thompson in Chicago in 1926; they had a son.

Photography career

Polk returned to Tuskegee in 1927 to open his own studio in his home in the town. His mentor Battey died that same year, and the following year Polk joined the school's faculty. In 1933, he took over as head of the Photography Department, remaining in that capacity until 1938. He left for a year in an attempt to open a branch of his photography studio in Atlanta, GA, before returning to Tuskegee to serve as the college's official photographer for four decades. He documented famous visitors such as

Paul Robeson Paul Leroy Robeson ( ; April 9, 1898 – January 23, 1976) was an American bass-baritone concert artist, stage and film actor, professional football player, and activist who became famous both for his cultural accomplishments and for his p ...

and

Langston Hughes James Mercer Langston Hughes (February 1, 1901 – May 22, 1967) was an American poet, social activist, novelist, playwright, and columnist from Joplin, Missouri. One of the earliest innovators of the literary art form called jazz poetry, Hug ...

and events such as the

Civil Rights Movement The civil rights movement was a nonviolent social and political movement and campaign from 1954 to 1968 in the United States to abolish legalized institutional Racial segregation in the United States, racial segregation, Racial discrimination ...

on campus. At the same time, he continued to run his own studio in town. Shot in black and white, Polk's subjects ranged from famous African Americans such as

George Washington Carver George Washington Carver ( 1864 – January 5, 1943) was an American agricultural scientist and inventor who promoted alternative crops to cotton and methods to prevent soil depletion. He was one of the most prominent black scientists of the ea ...

to working-class and poor Alabamians. One series, "Old Characters", focused on documenting formerly enslaved men and women from Macon County. Like Battey, Polk strove to portray his sitters with dignity and sensitivity. Unlike Battey—who preferred soft-focus shots and idealizing poses—Polk developed a style in which sharp details and strong lighting showcased his subjects' individuality. His approach is evident in a comment he made about a 1932 photograph from the "Old Characters" series entitled ''The Boss'': :"Portrayed in her own matter-of-factness: confident, hard working, adventuresome, assertive and stern. The pose, at an angle, and her expression, authoritative and firm, are not the result of my usual tactics to encourage a response. She wears her own clothes. She is not cloaked in victimization. She is not pitiful; therefore, she is not portrayed in pitiful surroundings. She is not helpless, and she is not cute." In his early work, Polk used a Kodak box camera with a Graphex lens. Critics have commented on his technical mastery of the medium despite not always having the best equipment. One of Polk's most influential images was a 1941 photograph of 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 ...

in a plane with pilot Charles Anderson, who was the Tuskegee Institute's chief flight instructor. The photograph was used to promote the newly established Tuskegee Airmen "experiment" that would ultimately train some 450 black pilots for deployment in World War II as the

Tuskegee Airmen The Tuskegee Airmen were a group of primarily African American military pilots (fighter and bomber) and airmen who fought in World War II. They formed the 332d Fighter Group and the 477th Fighter Group, 477th Bombardment Group (Medium) of the ...

. Polk's photographs have been exhibited at the

Corcoran Gallery The Corcoran Gallery of Art was an art museum in Washington, D.C., United States, that is now the location of the Corcoran School of the Arts and Design, a part of the George Washington University. Overview The Corcoran School of the Arts & Design ...

(Washington, DC), the

Museum of Natural History A natural history museum or museum of natural history is a scientific institution with natural history collections that include current and historical records of animals, plants, fungi, ecosystems, geology, paleontology, climatology, and more. ...

(New York, NY), the

Studio Museum in Harlem The Studio Museum in Harlem is an American art museum devoted to the work of artists of African descent. The museum's galleries are currently closed in preparation for a building project that will replace the current building, located at 144 W ...

(NY), and a range of galleries and other institutions. In 1980 he was awarded the Black Photographer’s Annual Testimonial Award, and the following year he won a

National Endowment for the Arts The National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) is an independent agency of the United States federal government that offers support and funding for projects exhibiting artistic excellence. It was created in 1965 as an independent agency of the federal ...

fellowship. Polk retired from Tuskegee in the early 1980s and died in Tallassee, AL, on December 29, 1984.

Publications on Polk's work

*Polk, P.H. ''P.H. Polk—A Portfolio of Eleven Original Photographs''. South Light/Ohio State University, 1981. (Signed limited edition) *Polk, P.H. ''P.H. Polk''. Corcoran Gallery catalog, 1981. *Chapp, Belena S., et al. ''P.H. Polk: Through These Eyes: The Photographs of P.H. Polk''. University Gallery, 1998.

Notes and references

{{DEFAULTSORT:Polk, P. H. 1898 births 1984 deaths African-American photographers 20th-century American photographers People from Bessemer, Alabama 20th-century African-American artists