Currently available collections of 

Alex Harsley
Born 1938 South Carolina
Harlem Raised
NYC 1948-Present 
Documentary Photographer
Experimental Videographer AHarsley Photography
Curator, The 4th Street Photo Gallery
Founder, Minority Photographers Inc

Contact: Kendra.Krueger@gmail.com
www.the4thstreetphotogallery.com
About the Artist
Alex Harsley is known for his raw
reportage style of photography which
he began in 1958 as the first black
photographer for the New York City
District Attorney. 

His work is a  parallel of his life growing

up in Harlem in the 1950s and later
moving to the Lower East Side in the
1970s.  His collection contains a
historical narrative of civic leaders,
musicians, street folk and landscapes of
those times and places.  His
documentary medium consists of film
photography, digital photography,
digital sound and video. 
 Photography
Out My Bedroom Window
Out My Bedroom Window  is a collection of
images captured  from 1958-1964 in Harlem,
NYC.  The haunting and sometimes comical
scenes portray complex moment in time from
life in Harlem.  

AHarsley Photography
Hi resolution digital TIFF  custom printed
or
Select Silver Gelatin Master Prints
ranging in size, 22 x 24 and 8 x 10
 Photography
Those Who
Those Who  tells the story of prominent black
activists, artists and political powers from the
1950s thru the 1990s.  Those who dared, those
who succeeded, those who died trying.

Hi resolution digital TIFF custom prints

or AHarsley Photography
Select Silver Gelatin Master Prints
ranging in size, 22 x 24 and 8 x 10
 Photography
The Last

The Last is an homage to endings. A series

of captioned photos representing the end
of many iconic eras in New York.  

Hi Resolution digital Tiff

custom printed to size AHarsley Photography
 Photography
I am The Greatest

An intimate perspective of Muhammad

Ali during his 1972 comeback training in
Deer Park, PA.

Up to 15 Images AHarsley Photography

Hi Resolution digital Tiff
custom printed to size
 Photography
Other Collections: AHarsley Photography
People of the East Village
Fashions of Coney Island 1950-70
Bedford Stuyvesent Riots
Averne/Far Rockaway Displacement
Silence in Central Park
Vintage Cycling and Velodrom
The World Trade Center Past, Present, and
Future
AHarsley Photography
Hi resolution digital TIFF custom printed AHarsley Photography
or
Silver Gelatin Master Prints
ranging in size, 22 x 24 and 8 x 10
 Mixed Media
Captured
Captured is a mixed media presentation and
installation in juxtaposing time.  Digital images
of fixed moments in time are mounted on
active, unfixed silver gelatinphoto paper that
are constantly changing in the ambient light. 
Effectively, the present moment is captured
and conjoined with the past in this experiment
in information, radiation and time.
AHarsley Photography

Up to 40 images mounted in frames that

enhance the dynamic light sensativity
 8 x 10
 Video
The First Light Series
The First Light Series  is a parable.  A
hypnotic family history of dark matter,
dark energy and ultimately dark time. The
Harsley Photography layered and 3-dimensional
soundscape takes the mind into parallel
realities. There is a sense of
deprogramming. Of un-knowing. Of
arriving at a new nexus of time/space.  

Various Lengths 1min - 1hr

Presentable as screening with Q&A or
Installation
 Video

Dreaming in America
Dreaming in America  is a container for the
psychic struggle of American idealism. 
 Capitalism, fear, hope, identity, harmony,
Harsley Photography and discord are all pursued and visited in
this dream like journey.  

Various Lengths 1min - 1hr

Presentable as screening with Q&A or
Installation
 Installation

Anti-Gravity
Anti-Gravity is an installation and
experiment in balance and energy.  The
delicate balance of floating materials is a
Harsley Photography dynamic piece which responds and adapts
to the forces within a room.  Watch as it
ebbs and flows with the sounds in a room
and provides dynamic damp for any echo
prone space.  
Contact Information

Booking: Kendra Krueger

Kendra.Krueger@gmail.com

youtube.com/photodirect

etsy.com/shop/AHarsleyPhotography

4thstreetphoto

www.the4thstreetphotogallery.com
 Full Portfolio
Born Rock Hill, South Carolina
Lives and works in New York City
Education
Private studies with Lloyd Varden (scientific advisor to photographic industry)
Solo Exhibitions
2014                   A Visual History of the Lower East Side/ East Village, June Kelly Gallery, New York
                           Alex Harsley: The Comeback of Mohammed Ali, Torch Gallery, Amsterdam, Netherlands
2012                   50 Years of Fine Art Images, June Kelly Gallery, New York
2005                  Dualities, 4th Street Photo Gallery, New York
2004                  44 Years of New York, June Kelly Gallery, New York
2002                  Patchworks, essay by Dawoud Bey, June Kelly Gallery, New York
1997                   Chiaroscuro, June Kelly Gallery, New York
1973-97              4th Street Photo Gallery, New York
1978                   Black History Museum, Hempstead, NY
1974                   Parallels of Inspiration, Berkshire Museum, Pittsfield, MA
1971                   Optional Art One; Optional Art Two; Man, Matter & Art, Image Gallery, New York
Selected Group Exhibitions
2007                  Celebration: Nine Artists Commemorate the 35th Anniversary of Winston-Salem Delta Fine Arts,
                              Winston-Salem, NC; brochure
2004                  A Universe of Art, organized by Corporate Art Directions, Credit Suisse First Boston, NY
1976                   Rhythms of Vision, Contemporary Arts Gallery, New York
1973                   Communications ’73,Union Carbide Gallery, New York
                          Communications ’73, Long Island University, New York
1972                   Symbols in the Mind - A Closer Look, Long Island University, New York
Selected Periodicals & Reviews
2013                   Safran, Yehuda E., “Philip Johnson in MoMA’s Garden,” Potlach: A Journal of the
                              Potlach Lab at Columbia University GSAPP, Issue #3, Spring, pp. 81-83, one photograph
2012                   Kley, Elisabeth, reviews: new york, “Alex Harsley, June Kelly,” ARTnews, September, pp.110-111
                          Cotter, Holland, “Alex Harsley,” Art in Review, The New York Times, June 15, p. C25
                          Boyd, Herb, “Alex Harsley’s Photos at June Kelly’s Gallery, The Network Journal, Friday, June 15
2004                  Bey, Dawoud, “Into the Light,” review, art on paper, May/June
                          Aletti, Vince, review, Village Voice, February 4-10
2002                  Tabron, Christopher, “Tiny ‘Patchworks’ of Art,” SoHo Weekly News, April
1997                   Schjeldahl, Peter, “Whitney Biennial,” video collaboration with installation artist
                             David Hammons, Village Voice
1985                   Braff, Phyllis, “Pictures Worth a thousand Words,” The New York Times,  Sunday, April
1975                   Henni, P., “SWN Discoveries,” Soho Weekly News
1971                   Coleman, A. D., “Latent Image,” Village Voice Coleman, A. D., “Shows We’ve Seen,”
                         Popular Photography
Public Collection
                         Smithsonian Institution, National Museum of African American History and Culture,
                             Washington, DC
Public Commissions
2000                 Health and Hospital Corporation, Woodhull Medical Center, Brooklyn, NY
Professional Experience
2004                  Artist-in-Residence, Light Work, Syracuse, New York
1975-2003         Collaborative work with Dawoud Bey and David Hammons
1991-1999          Freelance: Schomburg Library for Research in Black Culture
1991-1992          Bedford Stuyvesant Restoration and Harlem Textiles Works
1971                    Photojournalist, Relevant Magazine, photographing Muhammad Ali at training camp,
                              Deer Lake, PA
1970-1971          Arverne Photographic Project
1967-1970          Supervisor, Color Lab (Types C&R)
1964-1967          Freelance for variety of black publications
1961-1963          Photographer, U.S. Army
1959                   Photographer, New York County, District Attorney’s Office
Film/Video
1994-2001         Collaboration with choreographer Rod Rogers
2000                 Collaboration with poet John Farris at Tribes Gallery
1996-2000        Feature video, “The Life and Work of Vincent Smith”
1999                   “Circles,” video collaboration with Candida Alvarez
                        “Passages,” feature piece for The Studio Museum in Harlem, New York
1989-1999         Produced video for Harlem Textiles Works with the late director Kerris Wolsky
1998                   Produced DVD for David Hammons
1995                   “Kick the Bucket,” video collaboration with installation artist David Hammons
                        “The Plastic Man,” video collaboration with installation artist David Hammons
Contributor to the following publications:
1976                   UNICEF Calendar, UNICEF, New York
1975                   Looking Ahead, Harcourt Brace Jovanovic, Inc., New York
1974                   Creative Photography, Eastman Kodak, Rochester, NY
Achievements
1973-present   Opened the 4th Street Photo Gallery, as owner and director
1971                   Founded Minority Photographers, Inc, where he organized work and exhibitions of
                            emerging photographers and acted as consultant
                        Published, “Person, Camera & The Image” newsletter (2,000 readership) to which he was
                            a regular contributor with a piece called “To What Purpose a Leaf”
                        Organized special collection of photos taken in China, 1927-31by G.W. Meacham,
                            U.S. merchant sailor
Biography
2000                  Dictionary of International Biography, International Biographical Centre, Cambridge, England
                        The Complete Book of Photographers, Macmillan
1988                  Willis-Thomas, Debra, An Illustrated Bio-Bibliography of Black Photographers, 1940-1988,
                            Vol. 2, Garland Publishing Company, New York, 1988
Miscellaneous
1971                   Coached and collaborated with cyclist Patrick Gulanau who won national and
                            international races both on track and road. In 2003, Gulanau won the Masters
                            National Track championship
1960                   Trained and collaborated with cyclist Herbert Francis, Olympics in Italy
1959                   Photographed the six-day indoor bicycle races at Madison Square Garden, New York