Roy DeCarava
Graduation, New York1949/printed 1982
gelatin silver print
10 7/8 x 13 7/8 in.
Smithsonian American Art Museum, purchase made possible by Henry L. Milmore
Graduation, New York is one of 140 photographs published in The sweet flypaper of life, a collaborative endeavor that teamed photographer DeCarava with poet and novelist Langston Hughes. The publication was a commercial and critical success. Hughes's fictional account of life seen through the eyes of Sister Mary Bradley gives us a character whose commentary reflects social and historical changes in Harlem.
