For Immediate Release
November 18, 2014

Five Volume Gordon Parks: Collected Works Presented to Suffolk, Chronicles African-American Photographer's Career

Pre-eminent 20th century African-American photographer Gordon Parks and his foundation – The Gordon Parks Foundation -- headquartered at SUNY Purchase, recently presented Suffolk County Community College with a five-volume set of Parks’ photos.

Gordon Parks: Collected Works is the most extensive publication documenting Parks more than six decade-long legendary career and covers subjects ranging from the civil rights movement, urban poverty, and rural life to the worlds of fashion and the arts. 

The collection begins in 1942 with Parks first professional position at the Farm Security Administration where he strove to expose intolerance and to fight social injustice.

Parks worked for the U.S. Office of War Information and Standard Oil of New Jersey before becoming the first African American photographer for LIFE magazine in 1948.

Parks’ photo-essays covered a broad range of topics, including gang wars in Harlem, fashion in Paris, and segregation in the American South. Parks later pursued a successful career as movie director. He was also an accomplished portraitist, capturing now-famous images of Ingrid Bergman, Alberto Giacometti, Gloria Vanderbilt, Duke Ellington, Malcom X, and Muhammad Ali.

The collected works will be available in each of Suffolk’s libraries on a rotating basis.

http://www.gordonparksfoundation.org/