Harvey Wang (b. 1956)

Harvey Wang made large silver gelatin prints for Remembering the Forgotten Ones: Selections from the Milton Rogovin Collection, a touring exhibition organized by the Burchfield Penney Art Center in collaboration with the New-York Historical Society. It premiered at our museum December 7, 2002-March 2, 2003, and traveled to New York for presentation June 17-September 14, 2003. The exhibition celebrated the acquisition of 225 Rogovin photographs donated by Robert M. and Mary Ann Budin in 2001 which significantly expanded the museum’s holdings. Prior to that, the Collectors’ Club purchased 6 photographs in 1992, and Cecile and Steven G. Biltekoff donated one in 2000.

In addition to Harvey Wang’s gift for the collection, he donated several items to the BPAC Archives, including:

A (one of kind) 35mm film print of Harvey Wang’s 12-minute documentary short about Milton Rogovin—in the original, 15 ¾-inch diameter, silver can

35mm film print negative (in 15-inch silver can) and a few other related elements: proof in 15-inch bronze can, adjustments in 10 7/8-inch bronze can.

50 "work" prints by Harvey Wang, made from Rogovin's negatives in 2000 for his book, The Forgotten Ones, which include new Quartet photographs

About this donation, Harvey Wang wrote:

I am a photographer and filmmaker who worked with Milton in the early 2000s while he was revisiting his subjects on Buffalo’s West Side. I co-authored the book, Milton Rogovin: The Forgotten Ones (Quantuck Lane Press, 2003) and I also made a film of the same name, which won “Best Short Documentary” at the Tribeca Film Festival. During the period of being in Buffalo with the Rogovins, I also did still images of Milton at work, at home, and portraits of him and his wife Anne. … Here is a link to my short film about Milton: https://vimeo.com/44383224. Here is a link to my website: https://www.harveywang.com/.

Harvey Wang studied visual arts and anthropology at the State University of New York Purchase College. He has published six books of photography including Harvey Wang’s New York (1990) and, with co-author David Isay, Flophouse: Life on the Bowery (2000) and Holding On: Dreamers, Visionaries, Eccentrics and Other American Heroes (1995). [David Isay is a radio producer, and founded Sound Portraits Productions and StoryCorps, an ongoing oral history project. He is the recipient of numerous broadcasting honors, including six Peabody Awards and a MacArthur “Genius” Fellowship.] Wang’s most recent book is From Darkroom to Daylight (2015). He has exhibited widely at museums, including the National Museum of American History at the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C., the New-York Historical Society, and the Museum of the City of New York. His films have screened at festivals all over the world. His short film about the photographer Milton Rogovin won the prize for Best Documentary Short at the Tribeca Film Festival. He lives and works in New York City.