James Van Der Zee was born on June 29, 1886, in Lenox, Massachusetts. The second of six children, James grew up in a family of creative people. At the age of fourteen he received his first camera and took hundreds of photographs of his family and town. By 1906, he had moved to New York, married, and was taking jobs to support his growing family. In 1907, he moved to Phoetus, Virginia, where he worked in the dining room of the Hotel Chamberlin. During this time he also worked as a photographer on a part-time basis. He opened his own studio in 1916. World WarⅠhad begun and many young soldiers came to the studio to have their pictures taken. In 1969, the exhibition, Harlem On My Mind, brought him international recognition. He died in 1983.