killerbeesting*

carl van vechten - zora neale hurston

carl van vechten - tallulah bankhead, 1934

carl van vechten - janet collins in the spirituals, nyc, 1949

carl van vechten - harry belafonte, nyc, 1954

carl van vechten - ladybird cleveland with self portrait, nyc, 1954

carl van vechten - bertice reading, nyc, 1959

carl van vechten - benny garland, nyc, 1959

carl van vechten - jullius perkins jr, nyc, 1939

carl van vechten - eartha kitt, nyc, 1954

Beauty

Say not of Beauty she is good,
Or aught but beautiful,
Or sleek to dove’s wings of the wood
Her wild wings of a gull.

Call her not wicked; that word’s touch
Consumes her like a curse;
But love her not too much, too much,
For that is even worse.

O, she is neither good nor bad,
But innocent and wild!
Enshrine her and she dies, who had
The hard heart of a child.

~elinor wylie

carmenhawk:

Carl Van Vechten/ 1946

carmen de lavallade with husband geoffrey holder, 1955 by carl van vechten

carmen de lavallade, 1955 by carl van vechten

carmen de lavallade by carl van vechten