Coreen Simpson, an 83-year-old photographer born in Brooklyn in 1942, is the subject of a new eponymous 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, images of the early hip-hop scene, and later collage experiments. Simpson is known for merging fashion and social photography, capturing both celebrities like Muhammad Ali, Toni Morrison, and Jean-Michel Basquiat, as well as unnamed individuals in her series “Nitebirds/Nightlife,” all with a frontal, confident gaze that emphasizes the subject's self-presentation.
The monograph represents a significant recuperative effort by editors Drs. Sarah Lewis, Leigh Raiford, and Deborah Willis to bring Simpson's work to a wider audience after decades of relative obscurity. Simpson herself stated she “wanted a serious book on my work, because I deserve it.” The publication matters because it corrects a gap in photographic history, highlighting how a successful parallel career as a jewelry designer may have eclipsed her photographic pursuits. It also underscores the ongoing work of institutions and scholars to recover and celebrate the contributions of Black women photographers whose work was historically undervalued.