Prominent African American photographer of the early twentieth century. Vanderzee was born in Lennox, Massachusetts and was largely seft-taught. His most heralded images are of Black American in New York's Harlem district between WW1 and WW2 at the height of the Harlem Renaissance.

Working out of his own commercial studio, Vanderzee took hundreds of photographs of Harlem's elite including Countee Cullen, Bill "Bojangles" Robinson, Joe Louis, Father Divine, and Marcus Garvey.

"Harlem on My Mind": a 1969 exhibition at the Metropolitan Museum of Art caused a resurgence in the popularity of Vanderzee's work.