DETROIT--The two photographers faced each other, one with camera ready and the other looking happy to pose for a picture. Ten-year-old Kemba N'Namdi focused deliberately as celebrated Harlem Renaissance photographer James VanDerZee, 96, smiled fondly at the little girl.
The year was 1982 and the occasion was the opening of VanDerZee's one-man exhibit in the art gallery owned by Kemba's father, George N'Namdi. At the time, VanDerZee was the nation's oldest working photographer, discovered as an artist at age 82. Museums and private collectors subsequently vied for his work.
