What do you think?
Rate this book
The Tastemaker: Carl Van Vechten and the Birth of Modern America
A revealing biography of the influential and controversial cultural titan who embodied an era
The Tastemaker explores the many lives of Carl Van Vechten, the most influential cultural impresario of the early twentieth a patron and dealmaker of the Harlem Renaissance, a photographer who captured the era's icons, and a novelist who created some of the Jazz Age's most salacious stories. A close confidant of Langston Hughes, Gertrude Stein, George Gershwin, F. Scott Fitzgerald, and the Knopfs, Van Vechten frolicked in the 1920s Manhattan demimonde, finding himself in Harlem's jazz clubs, Hell's Kitchen's speakeasies, and Greenwich Village's underground gay scene. New York City was a hotbed of vice as well as creativity, and Van Vechten was at the center of it all.Edward White's biography―the first comprehensive biography of Carl Van Vechten in nearly half a century, and the first to fully explore Van Vechten's tangled relationship to race and sexuality―depicts a controversial figure who defined an age. Embodying many of the contradictions of modern America, Van Vechten was a devoted husband with a coterie of boys by his side, a supporter of difficult art who also loved lowbrow entertainment, and a promoter of the Harlem Renaissance whose bestselling novel―and especially its title―infuriated many of the same African-American artists he championed. Van Vechten's defense of what many Americans considered bad taste―modernist literature, African-American culture, and sexual self-expression―created a popular appetite for these quintessential elements of American art. The Tastemaker encompasses its subject's private fears and longings, as well as Manhattan's raucous, taboo-busting social scene of which he was such a central part. It is a remarkable portrait of a man whose brave journeys across boundaries of race, sexuality, and taste helped make America fully modern.
The Tastemaker explores the many lives of Carl Van Vechten, the most influential cultural impresario of the early twentieth a patron and dealmaker of the Harlem Renaissance, a photographer who captured the era's icons, and a novelist who created some of the Jazz Age's most salacious stories. A close confidant of Langston Hughes, Gertrude Stein, George Gershwin, F. Scott Fitzgerald, and the Knopfs, Van Vechten frolicked in the 1920s Manhattan demimonde, finding himself in Harlem's jazz clubs, Hell's Kitchen's speakeasies, and Greenwich Village's underground gay scene. New York City was a hotbed of vice as well as creativity, and Van Vechten was at the center of it all.Edward White's biography―the first comprehensive biography of Carl Van Vechten in nearly half a century, and the first to fully explore Van Vechten's tangled relationship to race and sexuality―depicts a controversial figure who defined an age. Embodying many of the contradictions of modern America, Van Vechten was a devoted husband with a coterie of boys by his side, a supporter of difficult art who also loved lowbrow entertainment, and a promoter of the Harlem Renaissance whose bestselling novel―and especially its title―infuriated many of the same African-American artists he championed. Van Vechten's defense of what many Americans considered bad taste―modernist literature, African-American culture, and sexual self-expression―created a popular appetite for these quintessential elements of American art. The Tastemaker encompasses its subject's private fears and longings, as well as Manhattan's raucous, taboo-busting social scene of which he was such a central part. It is a remarkable portrait of a man whose brave journeys across boundaries of race, sexuality, and taste helped make America fully modern.
379 pages, Paperback
First published February 18, 2014
10 people are currently reading
189 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews
August 25, 2024
Who is this 32-year prissy, naïve UK bio writer named Edward White? He lacks the essential quality a CVV biographer needs : sophistication. He reluctantly lauds CVV while making judgmental groans about "smut," a fav word. Clearly, he needed and wanted a project, and the result is a very snide, unlikeable book abt a complex, likeable Personality. CVV deserves far better. So do we.
After discovering CVVs engaging novel "Parties" some years ago, I wanted to know lots more abt the author -- like, who was he? His sensibility matched mine. I quickly read his 6 other novels. Later, at a NYC party, I came upon a chap I shall call Reggie Flopling, then in his mid50s, who'd been involved - so to speak - w CVV in the late '50s when Flopling was a young, would-be society-portrait painter in NYC.
He was happy to talk, though his presence was suffocating. He gave CVVs last birthday party in 1963, he said, and among the guests were Mabel Mercer & Tallulah Bankhead (CVV met Tallu when she first arrived in NYC as a teen). He said when Mercer began to sing, so did Tallulah, and it was annoying but also very funny.
A bio represents a selection of facts. But, as Nancy Mitford argues, "It should not be a mere collection of facts." Tell that to US publishers. Is it important to know the name of a kid CVV may have had his first j.o. sessions with ? Skip this nonsense, I say, and give us some stylish writing. Eddie White cannot deliver.
Unless one has read the works of a writer, why would anyone feel compelled to read a bio of same, especially if the novels are hardly discussed. Bruce Kellner's bio (which may be out of print) celebrates the best of CVVs writing while omitting a lot of personal facts as CVVs wife was still alive. Here, then, is an account of an important tastemaker by an author who clearly dislikes him. This is White's loss.
----
Mabel sang "Savannah" and Tallu insisted on "Bye, Bye Blackbird."
After discovering CVVs engaging novel "Parties" some years ago, I wanted to know lots more abt the author -- like, who was he? His sensibility matched mine. I quickly read his 6 other novels. Later, at a NYC party, I came upon a chap I shall call Reggie Flopling, then in his mid50s, who'd been involved - so to speak - w CVV in the late '50s when Flopling was a young, would-be society-portrait painter in NYC.
He was happy to talk, though his presence was suffocating. He gave CVVs last birthday party in 1963, he said, and among the guests were Mabel Mercer & Tallulah Bankhead (CVV met Tallu when she first arrived in NYC as a teen). He said when Mercer began to sing, so did Tallulah, and it was annoying but also very funny.
A bio represents a selection of facts. But, as Nancy Mitford argues, "It should not be a mere collection of facts." Tell that to US publishers. Is it important to know the name of a kid CVV may have had his first j.o. sessions with ? Skip this nonsense, I say, and give us some stylish writing. Eddie White cannot deliver.
Unless one has read the works of a writer, why would anyone feel compelled to read a bio of same, especially if the novels are hardly discussed. Bruce Kellner's bio (which may be out of print) celebrates the best of CVVs writing while omitting a lot of personal facts as CVVs wife was still alive. Here, then, is an account of an important tastemaker by an author who clearly dislikes him. This is White's loss.
----
Mabel sang "Savannah" and Tallu insisted on "Bye, Bye Blackbird."
January 30, 2023
Reading about Gertrude Stein over the years, I kept bumping into Carl Van Vechten, but didn't know much about him. I've never read any of his books, which were very "of the moment" and controversial / popular in the Jazz Age 1920s.
This biography tries to cover the bases but the writer seems to lack a certain sound foundation upon which to build. Some of the sentences were unfortunate, for example this one from pages 258: CVV and a younger journalist had just met and started a relationship: "When they were not together as, because of the great distances that often separated them, was frequently, they sent each other letters, postcards, and clippings from newspapers and magazines almost every day for the next three decades."
The author also has a great fondness for using "[sic]” to indicate errors in quotes; however, this got on my last nerve, because sometimes the purported "errors" were merely American usage or obvious vernacular or slang. This heavy-handed "siccing" was distracting, frequently not even required, applied inconsistently or used in error itself (where were the U.S. editors at this U.S. publisher?) — the cumulative effect was to prime me to be completely unforgiving for the numerous typos and errors in this book (such as when someone couldn't "bare to do" something).
This biographer did not offer much insight into Van Vechten's relationships or the subtleties of his marriage (instead of being an obvious "failure" perhaps they had an "open" marriage—this possibility was never considered). Reading this felt like island-hopping without ever developing much of the sense of the nature of the sea surrounding everything.
Carl Van Vechten is a genuinely complicated figure, a self-promoter who also worked to advance the careers of many other people. I was happy to learn more about this writer, photographer, editor, gossip, and party animal, but didn't feel this biography was completely at ease with the range and complications of the material. Edward White tried, he really tried, and I'm trying to be generous. Three stars, rounded down to 2.5 because of those ridiculous pretentious fussy sics.
This biography tries to cover the bases but the writer seems to lack a certain sound foundation upon which to build. Some of the sentences were unfortunate, for example this one from pages 258: CVV and a younger journalist had just met and started a relationship: "When they were not together as, because of the great distances that often separated them, was frequently, they sent each other letters, postcards, and clippings from newspapers and magazines almost every day for the next three decades."
The author also has a great fondness for using "[sic]” to indicate errors in quotes; however, this got on my last nerve, because sometimes the purported "errors" were merely American usage or obvious vernacular or slang. This heavy-handed "siccing" was distracting, frequently not even required, applied inconsistently or used in error itself (where were the U.S. editors at this U.S. publisher?) — the cumulative effect was to prime me to be completely unforgiving for the numerous typos and errors in this book (such as when someone couldn't "bare to do" something).
This biographer did not offer much insight into Van Vechten's relationships or the subtleties of his marriage (instead of being an obvious "failure" perhaps they had an "open" marriage—this possibility was never considered). Reading this felt like island-hopping without ever developing much of the sense of the nature of the sea surrounding everything.
Carl Van Vechten is a genuinely complicated figure, a self-promoter who also worked to advance the careers of many other people. I was happy to learn more about this writer, photographer, editor, gossip, and party animal, but didn't feel this biography was completely at ease with the range and complications of the material. Edward White tried, he really tried, and I'm trying to be generous. Three stars, rounded down to 2.5 because of those ridiculous pretentious fussy sics.
August 3, 2021
Edward White's biography of Van Vechten shows a complex man who challenged most of his "very proper" upbringing in the nineteenth century Iowa with its strict adherence to religious beliefs, hard work and the appearance of wholesome family life. Starting with his move to Chicago, followed by NY and then Hollywood he demonstrated his brilliance and intelligence firstly as a less than truthful crime reporter, then a music and literary critic, essayist and finally as a novelist.
White makes you feel Van Vechten's passion, energy and intelligence as he strives to promote himself and his work; but beneath his palpable charisma and charm there's an alter ego driven by hedonism, promiscuity, self-absorption and alcohol. Van Vechten collected and promoted fellow artists (black, female, gay etc.) but made sure he was always the center of attention; he would cut off friends for the slightest rebuff and typically would show little remorse for friends and lovers who had passed away.
One of the most telling comments was his accidental meeting with his first spouse, Anna Snyder. She had left him years before due his predilection for young gay men. Meeting her in Paris he described Anna as "haggard, overweight and altogether disgusting". After 50 years of marriage to his second spouse, Fania, who had learned to put with his promiscuity, he described their marriage as "Fania's intelligence is great; her opinions worthless".
The author wrote an entertaining biography showing his dry wit and some sympathy for his subject but he portrayed Van Vechten rightly or wrongly as an unlikable person who really pushed the envelope when it came to artistic expression.
This review was written by Shawn Callon, author of The Diplomatic Spy.
White makes you feel Van Vechten's passion, energy and intelligence as he strives to promote himself and his work; but beneath his palpable charisma and charm there's an alter ego driven by hedonism, promiscuity, self-absorption and alcohol. Van Vechten collected and promoted fellow artists (black, female, gay etc.) but made sure he was always the center of attention; he would cut off friends for the slightest rebuff and typically would show little remorse for friends and lovers who had passed away.
One of the most telling comments was his accidental meeting with his first spouse, Anna Snyder. She had left him years before due his predilection for young gay men. Meeting her in Paris he described Anna as "haggard, overweight and altogether disgusting". After 50 years of marriage to his second spouse, Fania, who had learned to put with his promiscuity, he described their marriage as "Fania's intelligence is great; her opinions worthless".
The author wrote an entertaining biography showing his dry wit and some sympathy for his subject but he portrayed Van Vechten rightly or wrongly as an unlikable person who really pushed the envelope when it came to artistic expression.
This review was written by Shawn Callon, author of The Diplomatic Spy.
June 1, 2014
Years ago, I read Bruce Kellner's 1968 biography, Carl Van Vechten and the Irreverant Decades written when his wife was still alive, and perhaps for that reason omitting many prurient details. I'd been turned on to Van Vechten by Brian Bouldrey's essay "Blue Jade." At one point I thought I might take on the project of a new biography, but that never got further than my starting the Wikipedia article on Van Vechten in 2004. These days Van Vechten is probably most noticed because of the photos of prominent mid-century figures whom he photographed; because they are in the public domain as a result of a donation to the Library of Congress, they are used to illustrate many Wikipedia articles.
White provides a chronological overview of Van Vechten's life, and quotes from letters, published writing, journals, and other primary sources. Van Vechten's homosexuality, which was elided in Kellner's book, is included, based on material such as the Yale scrapbooks which Van Vechten's will had sealed until 1990.
The book is anything but a hagiography; Van Vechten's marriages to Ana Snyder and Fania Marinoff show him as neglectful, unfaithful, and even abusive. White's illumination of the contradictions of Van Vechten's advocacy shows that the phenomenon of flawed allies is not new; at the same time as Van Vechten promoted black artists and writers at the time of the Harlem Renaissance, he also titled a novel Nigger Heaven despite warnings of the consequences.
I felt like the biography could have been a little longer; among the items omitted are the abortive collaboration with Coleman Dowell on a musical version of The Tattooed Countess, covered in Dowell's book A Star-Bright Lie; Van Vechten's role in Knopf's series of literary esoterica The Blue Jade Library; and Van Vechten's book on cats, The Tiger in the House: A Cultural History of the Cat. There is only incidental mention of the Stettheimer sisters (mainly artist Florine Stettheimer.)
White provides a chronological overview of Van Vechten's life, and quotes from letters, published writing, journals, and other primary sources. Van Vechten's homosexuality, which was elided in Kellner's book, is included, based on material such as the Yale scrapbooks which Van Vechten's will had sealed until 1990.
The book is anything but a hagiography; Van Vechten's marriages to Ana Snyder and Fania Marinoff show him as neglectful, unfaithful, and even abusive. White's illumination of the contradictions of Van Vechten's advocacy shows that the phenomenon of flawed allies is not new; at the same time as Van Vechten promoted black artists and writers at the time of the Harlem Renaissance, he also titled a novel Nigger Heaven despite warnings of the consequences.
I felt like the biography could have been a little longer; among the items omitted are the abortive collaboration with Coleman Dowell on a musical version of The Tattooed Countess, covered in Dowell's book A Star-Bright Lie; Van Vechten's role in Knopf's series of literary esoterica The Blue Jade Library; and Van Vechten's book on cats, The Tiger in the House: A Cultural History of the Cat. There is only incidental mention of the Stettheimer sisters (mainly artist Florine Stettheimer.)
May 15, 2019
I was really fascinated by this book. I picked it up after reading the jacket and did not know of him beforehand. He came of age in a period of cultural change that I find captivating and it was fun to read about all the people he associated with. There also was this interesting parallel of his life and the current tenor of our times I found intriguing as well. It reads pretty fast for a biography, because of all the cocktail parties.
June 4, 2014
Some biographers make the mistake of writing hagiographies, treating their subjects as saints to be glorified rather than real human beings. Not so Edward White. His biography of the complex Carl Van Vechten does not hesitate to question and criticize his subject, when such criticism seems deserved. Van Vechten was clearly a complex, self-obsessed, egotistical man, who curiously sought self-publicity by being the first to trumpet the work of others. He helped to bring the work of Gertrude Stein to American readers, enjoying the celebrity he gained by hitching his wagon to a star. When Stein died and named him her literary executor, he was dismayed that this meant actual labor on his part, labor that he did, by the way. He was married twice, but did not hesitate to be involved in numerous relationships with men during both those marriages. Van Vechten helped to bring the work of writers and musicians in Harlem to a broader, mostly white audience, and he prided himself on his many friendships with "Negroes." Yet he titled one of his novels "Nigger Heaven" and couldn't comprehend why his Black friends were troubled by the title. I have encountered Van Vechten mostly as a secondary character in my study of Stein and her circle. White's new, clear-eyed account of his life helps provide a much clearer perspective on Van Vechten's own accomplishments, and his curiously mixed motivations.
May 10, 2015
An immensely entertaining, vividly written, and exceptionally well researched biography (there are 33 pages of footnotes) of a character who is hardly remembered today. I knew Carl Van Vechten from the incandescent series of portrait photographs he took beginning in 1930 at the age of 50, but he had three or four other careers before then--as a journalist, critic, novelist, and--most importantly--as a tireless promoter of African-American culture to the white mainstream audience during the Harlem Renaissance. His approach to "Negroes" was an odd mix of condescension and adulation, but he was truly sincere in his love of the vibrant African-American culture that existed in 1920s New York. And Van Vechten knew absolutely everyone of any importance throughout his entire life. The book is littered with a parade of famous actors, musicians, writers, dancers, and public figures. Van Vechten was also a bisexual in a 50-year marriage, and the men he bedded during his lifetime constitute quite a pantheon of gods. An altogether absorbing book illustrated with many of Van Vechten's pictures of people like Bessie Smith, Gertrude Stein, F. Scott Fitzgerald, and Mabel Dodge Luhan.
September 7, 2014
This is a delightfully detailed, well-researched and fast-reading biography of Carl Van Vechten. The skill of Edward White (the author) is balanced by what a truly self-promoting and ANNOYING person CVV must have been to personally know.
May 10, 2015
I'm glad to have read a book about this important but forgotten figure of American culture, but it is blandly written, and Van Vechten never really comes to life in the pages. It feels more like a long magazine article than a fully committed biography of depth.
April 15, 2022
"Van Vechten adored [fill in the blank] and wanted to flaunt their connection publicly." It's a simple sentence, but it could be used in association with any number of artists and writers from the 1920's and 30's that Carl Van Vechten promoted--Gertrude Stein, Paul Robeson, Ethel Waters, Langston Hughes. As a prominent celebrity party host and man about town, Carl Van Vechten was not only a cheerleader for up-and-coming artists, but he was also a cheerleader for himself, similar to today's celebrities who are photographed at the biggest parties and envision themselves as social media influencers. Carl Van Vechten's life story reminded me somewhat of Truman Capote's--if Capote had grown up in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. Both were gay, talented fame seekers who made a name for themselves in the literary and social circles of New York, though in different eras. Van Vechten was not the writer that Capote was, his output consisting of now forgotten cultural essays and novels, but both men shared a desire to have famous friends and to be seen with those famous friends. Edward White's biography captures well Carl Van Vechten's special interest in the nightlife and stars of Harlem, leading to his early support for black writers such as Langston Hughes. Yet Van Vechten seemed oblivious to the inflammatory nature of the title he selected for his novel on blacks--"______Heaven" feeling that his open identification with blacks made him impervious to criticism. "The Tastemaker" is a fascinating portrait of a curious man who, though largely forgotten today, was at the center of a turbulent, exciting time for arts in America. This biography of Carl Van Vechten will remind readers that, if nothing else, fame and glory are fleeting.
January 5, 2025
"The Tastemaker: Carl Van Vechten and the Birth of Modern America" by Edward White is a comprehensive biography that delves into the multifaceted life of Carl Van Vechten, a significant cultural figure of the early 20th century. This book explores Van Vechten's role as a critic, novelist, photographer, and influential patron during the Harlem Renaissance, highlighting his interactions with luminaries like Langston Hughes, Gertrude Stein, and F. Scott Fitzgerald.
White's biography has an engaging narrative, which captures Van Vechten's dynamic presence in New York's cultural landscape. The book depicts him as a "polymath" who blurred the lines between high art and popular entertainment, challenging societal norms around race, sexuality, and taste. White demonstrates the ability to present Van Vechten in all his complexity, including his controversial choices, such as the titling of his novel "Nigger Heaven," which stirred significant debate during its time.
The biography also covers Van Vechten's later life, where he turned to photography, capturing images of many of the era's cultural icons, further cementing his influence on American arts. White's work has been commended for providing a nuanced view of Van Vechten's contributions and controversies, offering a critical yet appreciative look at a man who both defined and was defined by his era.
Overall, I enjoyed it for its depth of research, engaging storytelling, and its contribution to understanding the cultural shifts of the early 20th century through the lens of one of its most controversial and influential figures.
November 4, 2018
An expertly written biography of a fascinating man you've never heard of! Carl Van Vechten was an unbelievably busy man in his 84 years. He was a report, an author, a publicist, a trend setter, a photographer, and a person who was endlessly fascinated by what he felt was true American Culture. Because of his beliefs he was instrumental in publicizing Gertrude Stein in the States before anyone else. He did the same for Paul Robeson's singing career and Langston Hughes. He brought interest in the people, culture and art of Harlem to the world, helping to promote the Harlem Renaissance. He did all of this, while being a petulant baby about how he was treated and wearing blinders to how he went about doing what he did. This biography illuminates the amazing life of Van Vechten, illustrating his joy and fascination with everything he encountered in his world, but doesn't shy away from the odd ways in which he lived his life and went about his work. This is an endlessly fascinating read about an endlessly fascinating man.
August 12, 2019
Such an amazing read of an amazing life that so many people don’t know. Van Vechten is an enigma, a patron of African American culture and yet not without his flaws in race relations, a gay man living a very gay life in the background of a heterosexual marriage. He is all at once inspiring and infuriating, something this author truly understands and presents to us.
February 2, 2019
Far and away the ultimate bio of Carl Van Vechten. Great detail, and a great deal of research is not read elsewhere. Essential reading for those interested in the man, the Harlem Renaissance, the jazz age, gay culture, literature, and much more.
February 22, 2021
Absolutely love that van Vechten included obvious lies to his reviews of music and dance performances and readers just took it all for truth. Legend.
My crew and I did the same for our high school newspaper, and literally one townie totally got what we were up to.
My crew and I did the same for our high school newspaper, and literally one townie totally got what we were up to.
October 20, 2017
fascinating
March 18, 2014
Interesting but could have fleshed out more of Van Vechten's life. For instance, mentions in passing that Van vechten's cats were important to him but fails to mention The Tiger in the House (Carl Van Vechten's frequently reprinted history of cats.
December 1, 2015
I picked up this book because it would give me some history around Gertrude Stein who was a close friend of Van Vechten. The book was very interesting and presented the very interesting life of Carl Van Vechten very well.
Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews