Calvin Hicks Photograph Collection, 1970-2001

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Summary

Creators:
Hicks, Calvin (1941-2012)
Abstract:
Calvin Hicks was an African American photographer who lived in Los Angeles from 1968 to his death in 2012. He participated in several exhibit spaces and photography groups dedicated to the area's African American photographers, such as the Black Gallery and the Black Photographers of California. This collection covers the time period from 1970 to 2001. Materials include negatives, contact sheets, prints, slides, correspondence, and ephemera. Hicks' studio portraits, scenes from Venice Beach, and public event coverage feature prominently in this collection.
Extent:
2.77 linear feet
Language:
English .
Preferred citation:

For information about citing items in this collection, consult the appropriate style manual, or see the Citing Archival Materialsguide.

Background

Scope and content:

The Calvin Hicks Photograph Collection consists of more than 3,000 images. Materials include 35mm negatives (most black-and-white), 120mm negatives, contact sheets, prints, slides, correspondence, and ephemera. Negatives make up the majority of the collection. Many negatives are paired with their matching contact sheet. Hicks' studio portraits, scenes from Venice Beach, and public events coverage feature prominently in this collection. A majority of images were created in Los Angeles. Bulk dates are from 1970 to 2000.

The collection is arranged into seven series: Events and Places (1971-1999), Buildings (1988), Portraits (1983-1999), Fine-Art Photography (1970-1996), Festivals and Musicians (1995-1999), Political Figures (1996—1998), and Correspondence and Ephemera (2001).

Series I, Events and Places, showcases a sample of Hick's documentary photographs, such as small art exhibits, Venice Beach, and significant personal and public events.

Series II, Buildings, includes images of the Crenshaw Plaza construction and the home of Calvin Hicks.

Series III, Portraits, is the largest series. It consists of portraits of named or unidentified individuals, groups, families, couples, and weddings.

Series IV, Fine-Art Photography, contains more artistic renderings of the human body nude and/or in various poses and of objects.

Series V, Festivals and Musicians, captures several festivals (mostly jazz) in the Los Angeles area and images of musicians performing or attending events.

Series VI, Political Figures, includes images of African American politicians who served in California. The images are of a few events they attended during the 1990s.

Series VII, Correspondence and Ephemera, is the smallest collection. There are only two items in this series.

Regarding conservation, paper marks, burn marks, and sticking issues were found on a few materials upon arrival. This damage was likely caused by a house fire that had occurred at Calvin Hick's residence. As for identifiers, most materials are marked with an alphanumerical unique identifier on top of a sheet or on the back of a print. The Tom and Ethel Bradley Center created this identification for internal reference.

Collection folders are arranged alphabetically by title. Series are generally arranged chronologically, though not strictly due to additions made later.

Biographical / historical:

Calvin Hicks was born in West Virginia in 1941. He received a Bachelor of Science in Art Education from West Virginia State College in 1965. In 1968, he moved with his wife, Linda McCormick, and his two daughters to Los Angeles, where he began his 40-year career as a county probation officer. Having learned photography early in life, he continued his own art education in Los Angeles by attending classes at Inner City Cultural Center, Los Angeles Trade Technical College, and Otis Parson Art Institute (Otis College of Art and Design).

Pursuing photography in his free time, Calvin Hicks became an important local photographer and mentor who co-founded a number of exhibit spaces and photography groups dedicated to local African American photographers, such as the Visionist Gallery in downtown Los Angeles, the Black Gallery in Crenshaw, and the Black Photographers of California. He was a member of the Bunker Hill Arts League and exhibited alongside other notable photographers such as Donald Bernard, Roland Charles, and Willie Middlebrook. He is commonly described as a fine-art photographer, and he captured a variety of subjects, including portraits, jazz festivals, and Venice Beach.

Hick's images are featured in a number of publications, such as the following: Reflections In Black: A History of Black Photographers, 1840 to Present by Deborah Willis; Typing In the Dark poetry collection by S. Pearl Sharp; and Identity and Affirmation: Post War African American Photography, published by California State University's Institute of Media and Arts. His work has appeared in The New York Times, The Washington Post, and ZYZZYVA. A significant exhibit for Hicks and his vision was Life In A Day of Black L.A.: The Way We See, arranged by UCLA's Center for African American Studies and the Black Photographers of California, because it focused exclusively on West Coast Black photographers.

Hicks married his second wife, Joyce Elaine Hicks, in 2006 and retired from the county in 2008. After a long battle with cancer, he died in 2012.

Processing information:

Elizabeth Peattie, 2022, 2023, 2024

Arrangement:

Series I: Events and Places, 1971-1999

Series II: Buildings, 1988

Series III: Portraits, 1983-1999

Series IV: Fine-Art Photography, 1970-1996

Series V: Festivals and Musicians, 1995-1999

Series VI: Political Figures, 1996-1998

Series VII: Correspondence and Ephemera, 2001

Rules or conventions:
Describing Archives: A Content Standard

Indexed terms

Subjects:
Photographs

Access and use

Restrictions:

This collection is open for research use.

Terms of access:

Copyright status for materials in this collection is unknown. Transmission or reproduction of materials protected by U.S. Copyright Law (Title 17, U.S.C.) beyond that allowed by fair use requires the written permission of the copyright owners. Works not in the public domain cannot be commercially exploited without permission of the copyright owners. Responsibility for any use rests exclusively with the user.

Preferred citation:

For information about citing items in this collection, consult the appropriate style manual, or see the Citing Archival Materialsguide.

Location of this collection:
18111 Nordhoff Street
Northridge, CA 91330, US
Contact:
(818) 677-4594
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