James Karales Photographs

Photographs by 20th century American photojournalist James Karales made between 1953 and 1985. More »

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About the Digital Collection

This digital collection includes finished prints by 20th century American photojournalist James Karales made between 1953 and 1985. The majority of the images in the collection originated from Karales' documentary work for Look magazine during the 1960s. His major projects include images from Rendville, Ohio, a coal mining town and one of the first racially integrated towns in Appalachia; Vietnam during the war; New York's Lower East Side; logging in Oregon; and individuals and events of the Civil Rights movement during the 1960s, housed in three inter-related groups - the Martin Luther King, Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC), and Civil Rights Series. Other smaller projects include images of California, New Mexico, as well as a few individual portraits of Diana Vreeland and W. Eugene Smith.


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Source Collection

This digital collection comprises selected materials from the following archival collection at David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library:

James H. Karales photographs 1953-2006 and undated

Collection #RL.10017 | 18 Linear Feet (Approximately 15,000 items)

ABSTRACT
James Karales was an American photojournalist on staff at Look magazine. Collection houses the archive of photojournalist James Karales, active from the 1950s to the 1980s. The majority of the images in the collection originated from his work for Look magazine during the 1960s. Major projects document Rendville, Ohio, a coal mining town and one of the first racially integrated towns in Appalachia; the Vietnam War; New York's Lower East Side; Oregon logging; and the 1960s Civil Rights movement, including photographs of Martin Luther King, Jr. There may be racially mixed persons appearing in the Rendville series. Smaller projects document California, New Mexico, the Andrea Doria disaster, and other subjects. Formats in the collection include contact sheets, which serve as a thumbnail guide to almost all of the prints and negatives in the collection; black-and-white proof prints and finished prints in a range of sizes; original negatives (closed to research use); and over 1100 color slides. There are also print and biographical materials, some correspondence, and audiovisual materials. Acquired as part of the Archive of Documentary Arts at Duke University.

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