ABSTRACT
The aid and encouragement that Carl Van Vechten rendered to the artists of the Negro Renaissance took three forms; first, general writing upon Negro arts and artists; second, assistance in securing publication for the works of individuals and encouraging their efforts through bringing them to the attention of the public. Third, attempts to promote social contacts between black artists and their white counterparts, thus disseminating information about Negroes to the wider community. The appearance of the major portion of Van Vechten's Negro articles in Vanity Fair was far from accidental. Van Vechten's acquaintanceship with the blues as an African American art form came somewhat later than his discovery of the spirituals. Van Vechten's next Vanity Fair writing on the subject of the blues appeared in March 1926. It is a paean of praise for the blues singing of Bessie Smith, whose records he had begun to collect by the box.
