Coreen Simpson, a photographer born in 1942 in Brooklyn, is the subject of a new monograph published by Aperture as part of its Vision and Justice Book Series. The book surveys five decades of her work, spanning street photography, fashion photography, studio portraits in Harlem, and images of hip-hop stars and celebrities, all characterized by frontal, confident poses that capture subjects presenting their best selves. The monograph includes essays by art historian Bridget R. Cooks and editorial work by Drs. Sarah Lewis, Leigh Raiford, and Deborah Willis, highlighting Simpson's long-overdue recognition.
This publication matters because it rescues a significant body of work from obscurity, documenting Black American life and culture from the 1970s onward with an egalitarian eye that treats famous and unknown subjects alike. Simpson, described as an "underexposed photographer" by the New York Times, finally receives the serious book she felt she deserved, correcting a gap in photographic history and underscoring how parallel careers—such as her successful jewelry design for celebrities like Celia Cruz—can delay an artist's photographic legacy.