A Waldwick, New Jersey native, Jim Alexander had been enamored with New York City since he was able to visit on his own around age 13. He remembers riding the bus just across the George Washington Bridge, then taking the city’s spirit of variety and vibrance back with him.

 

It’s a vibrance that has shown up in his photography for the past 60 years — from the lively culture of music in Harlem to the funeral of Sir Duke Ellington to snapshots of the lives of everyday people. It was the place where he met the pioneering photographer Gordon Parks, who became a lifelong mentor and friend. It was the launching pad for his pursuit of photography as a career, graduating from the New York Institute of Photography in 1969. And it was the home of his first major solo exhibition — Duke & Other Legends — after a chance meeting with Studio Museum of Harlem’s former director Ed Spriggs.