Pia Peterson, BuzzFeed News' photo editor, features one of Hugh Bell's classic images from his series of Afro-Caribbean photos in her glowing tribute, "The Black Photographers Who Paved The Way For The World We Live In Now," appearing n the online magazine's Black History Month section.

Early Morning, 1964 — *Early Morning*, 1964

Peterson's article examines the lack of cultural diversity as a factor in the limited support and recognition historically for the work of black photographers, and the resulting degree to which their work has been largely unknown to the public. BuzzFeed News present's Bell's photo in the context of other important and mostly overlooked black photographers such as Ming Smith, James Presley Ball and James Barnor, among more established and well known artists like Gordon Parks and Anthony Barboza and goes on to discuss the context of black photography in archival and museum collections and the steps being taken by these institutions to maintain the stewardship of this work and ongoing aesthetic development.

Hugh Bell began his career as a photographer in the early 1950s, and his photograph entitled “Hot Jazz” was exhibited in the “Family of Man” exhibition at The Museum of Modern Art in 1955. Over the course of his career, Bell, himself of Afro-Caribbean heritage, photographed many aspects of the African-American experience, including the pioneering stage production of Jean Genet’s “The Blacks” (1961, featuring James Earl Jones, Roscoe Lee Brown, Cicely Tyson, and Maya Angelou); a “Jazz Giants” series (featuring Duke Ellington, Louis Armstrong, Billie Holiday, Sarah Vaughan, and many other musicians and performers); dancer Geoffrey Holder; Afro-Caribbean culture; female nudes for a photo spread in Avant-Garde magazine; and print advertisements for companies (such as Maxwell House Coffee, Miller Beer, IBM Computers, Gulf Gasoline, and the US Navy), all of which were geared to the African-American community. During the 1980s and 1990s, Hugh Bell photographed numerous gay and lesbian events, including Gay Pride marches, Wigstock and the Greenwich Village Halloween parades. Gartenberg Media has provided prints and digital copies of Bell's work for major exhibitions and film and television productions. A silver gelatin print of Early Morning was acquired in 2019 by the National Museum of African American History and Culture (NMAAHC).

Hugh Bell Self Portrait, 1984 — Hugh Bell *Self Portrait*, 1984

Gartenberg Media Enterprises (GME) is the exclusive representative of the Estate of Hugh Bell. For more information about Hugh Bell and his legacy, please contact David Deitch, Fine Arts Curator, at david@gartenbergmedia.com.