Gordon Parks

Gordon Parks (1912 - 2006)

Born Gordon Roger Alexander Buchanan Parks on November 30, 1912, in Fort Scott, Kansas

First African American to be a staff photographer for Life Magazine; photographed Civil Rights

First major African American director in Hollywood, his most famous film was Shaft (1971)

Died on March 7, 2006 at the age of 93, in New York City

Gordon Parks was a photographer, film maker, writer, and musician. You can visit his works at the Gordon Parks Foundation website. His works are often on view in museums across the county, including the National Gallery of Art, the Museum of Fine Arts, and collaborations between museums on Google Arts & Culture. In 2019, the PBS News Hour did a profile on Gordon Parks.

1912 – 2006Self Portrait, 1941The Gordon Parks Foundation

Gordon Parks .pdf

1947, photographThe Gordon Parks Foundation