Van Vechten, Carl (1880–1966)

US writer and photographer. He worked for the Chicago American newspaper (1903–06), moving to New York City and becoming a music critic, then Paris correspondent for the New York Times (1908–09). He wrote novels about life in New York City such as Nigger Heaven (1926), a work that renewed interest in the cultural life of African-Americans during the Harlem Renaissance of the 1920s. He also became an accomplished photographer in the 1930s, specializing in documentary portraits.

Van Vechten was born in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. He studied at the University of Chicago (1899–1903), and, as a longtime friend of Gertrude Stein, he became friendly with many of her circle.