Institute for Arts and Media

Jack Davis

Jack Davis (1920-2004)

In both his freelance work and work for the Herald Dispatch, Jack Davis chronicled the African-American community. Davis opened the Modern Arts Photography Studio in Los Angeles in the 1950’s and taught photography at the high school and community college levels. He was active in the community, working to promote photography and take what he called people pictures.  Davis’s photos have a flair for capturing character, especially within common surroundings.

Collection Includes:
Elijah Muhammad and Malcolm X
Mahalia Jackson
Duke Ellington
Claude Hudson
Robert Kennedy (1968 Campaign)
Sons of Watts