It takes a village to raise a child, but legendary photographer Alex Harsley needed the East Village to truly find himself after a tough childhood. Today, his 4th Street Photo Gallery endures down the street from Astor Place and dates back more than five decades since he first opened the storefront’s doors.
While his works can be found everywhere, including currently on display at the “Photography and the Black Arts Movement” exhibition in Los Angeles, Harsley remains essential, and fundamental, to the East Village.
Born to an unwed mother in 1938, Harsley hails from South Carolina where he spent his early years as an outcast from his family. He arrived in New York City in 1948 “after much hassle and [weirdness] and ridiculousness,” originally landing in the Bronx and just missing a major snowstorm, according to the other kids. He quickly familiarized himself with the subway system and everything else required of a young man new to the city. The entire five boroughs ultimately opened up to him (so much so that he worked as a messenger), but Manhattan’s East Village spoke to him the loudest.
“I found myself coming down to the Village,” said Harsley. “What was down in the Village? People [were] able to be who they wanted to [be] in the Village.”
In an interview at the 4th Street Photo Gallery, Harsley recalled the past 60 or so years, largely out of chronological order but in a picture-perfect detail enough to rival some of his most iconic shots. Harsley also pulled up a half-hour slideshow he put together for the AmNews, annotated by his dry wit. Several young people passed by the door as he talked, some draped in violet NYU graduation gowns and most in oversized baggy pants. None walked in.
Harsley’s illustrious photography career stems from self-taught skills. Early on, he found himself regretfully working for the photo departments at the Manhattan District Attorney — anger fills his voice when recalling his former employer’s prosecution of Hulan Jack, the first Black Manhattan Borough president. Then, the Vietnam War started. Harsley was drafted and he decided against returning to the D.A.’s Office after wrapping up his service. “I wasn’t interested in working [for] institutions anymore after the army,” he said.
His achievements are evidenced by prints of Black luminaries like Muhammad Ali, John Coltrane, and Shirley Chisholm displayed at the 4th Street Photo Gallery, but his work also includes lesser-known subjects, capturing both mundane Black city life and bold, experimental scenes he claims the ritzier galleries avoided at the time. His space opened in 1973, a few years after he established the Minority Photographers, Inc., an arts nonprofit that he describes as Facebook before Facebook.
“I was a little bit early in terms of technology,” said Harsley. “In terms of number [of] people, I began to communicate around the world with a newsletter — I was able to mail any place in the world for one penny, and I use that to communicate with people all around the world. That’s what grew in terms of getting those other arts to come here … those people [are] only coming here because it’s a safe haven.”
Half a century later, Harsley remains in the East Village despite the rising rents and dramatic demographic shifts. He starts his days late and his moments of brilliance are best developed at the back of the store where the natural light is the dimmest. His vintage Dodge Dart, which he bought in 1974, sits parked outside the gallery. Even in Manhattan, the neighborhood knows better than to take his spot. Despite the car’s age, the engine remains strong — Harsley starts it up and gives it a few revs as proof.
“I’ve been on the street for 50-some years. You know what I’ve learned?” asked Harsley with a wry smile. “Everybody’s stupid. How are they stupid? You can’t know everything, so I tried to get to know things that most people didn’t know about and I would like to introduce those things to them … that’s the Village in the Lower East Side. That’s what I came into. Why am I down here on the Lower East Side? It’s the spirit.”