Anthony Barboza facts for kids

Anthony Barboza (born in 1944 in New Bedford, Massachusetts) is a talented photographer, historian, artist, and writer. His family roots are from Cape Verde. He started his career in commercial art over forty years ago. Anthony Barboza's amazing skills helped him move into fine arts, where he continues to create and share his work in the American art world.

Barboza has created many different types of art, both traditional and new. His work is often inspired by African-American ideas. His art has been shown in public and private galleries, famous museums, and schools all over the world. He is especially known for his photographs of jazz musicians from the 1970s and 1980s. Many of these photos are in his book Black Borders, which was published in 1980. He received a special grant from the National Endowment for the Arts to help publish it.

In a 1984 article, he explained his approach to portraits: "When I do a portrait, I'm doing a photograph of how that person feels to me; how I feel about the person, not how they look." He believes that for a portrait to be successful, it needs to connect with people's minds and feelings. He creates his unique style by carefully using light and shadows, changing backgrounds, adjusting camera settings, and using many other techniques.

His most recent art exhibit, called Black Dreams/White Sheets, has traveled around the world. It was first shown in New York City in late 2010. In this exhibit, Barboza explores the experiences of the African diaspora (people of African origin living outside Africa). He looks at how race, gender, politics, and social issues have affected American society and culture throughout history and today.

Anthony Barboza's Career Journey

Anthony Barboza moved to New York City in 1963 when he was 19, right after finishing high school. He wanted to study photography with Hugh Bell. Hugh Bell was a very successful Black fashion photographer who became Barboza's mentor. Hugh Bell allowed Barboza to work for free to gain valuable experience in photography.

Before that, Barboza met Adger Cowans, another successful Black commercial photographer. Cowans introduced Barboza to a group of Black professional photographers called The Kamoinge Workshop. This group was started by Roy De Carava. Their goal was to have serious discussions about photography. At that time, African-American photographers often faced discrimination and were left out of the main photography world. The Kamoinge Workshop members worked together to support each other, share ideas, give feedback, and put on exhibitions. Anthony Barboza continues this tradition today as the current president of Kamoinge, Inc.. He still helps and supports other Black professional and aspiring photographers.

Starting His Photography Career

In 1965, Barboza joined the Navy. He became a full-time photographer for The Gosport, a newspaper based in Jacksonville, Florida. This is where he really developed his skills. He even had his own photography shows at the Pensacola Art Museum and the Emily Lowe Gallery at the University of Miami.

In 1970, his brother Ken Barboza, who had also served in the US Navy, started working with him. Ken eventually became Anthony's full-time agent. He helped Anthony connect with fashion and beauty magazines and advertising agencies in New York City, which expanded his career.

Barboza's Work in Magazines and Advertising

Anthony Barboza's photographs have been featured in many well-known magazines. These include The New Yorker, Newsweek, National Geographic, Vanity Fair, People, Esquire, Vogue, Harper's Bazaar, Glamour, Ms., Ebony, and The New York Times Sunday Magazine.

He has also created photographs for many big companies and organizations. Some of these include Coca-Cola, Pepsi, General Motors, HBO, Kodak, Revlon, AT&T, the U.S. Army, Sony, Burger King, Nissan, Absolut Vodka, Reebok, and L'Oreal.

Working with Miles Davis

Anthony Barboza even co-directed a TV commercial. It featured his friend, the famous jazz musician Miles Davis, for a Japanese advertising company called Dentsu.

Anthony Barboza's Art and Collections

Anthony Barboza's work has been featured in many books and publications about art and photography. Some of these include:

• 2011 Hip-Hop: A Cultural Odyssey
• 2010 Ain't Nothing Like the Real Thing: How the Apollo Theater Shaped American Entertainment
• 2009 Posing Beauty
• 2009 Picturing New York – Museum of Modern Art
• 2009 100 New York Photographers
• 2002 Day in the Life of Africa
• 2001 Committed to the Image: Contemporary Black Photographers – Brooklyn Museum of Art
• 2000 Jazz: A History of America's Music by Geoffrey C. Ward and Ken Burns
• 1995 Essence: 25 Years Celebrating Black Women
• 1992 Songs of My People

Where His Art is Kept Permanently

Anthony Barboza's photographs are so important that they are part of the permanent collections in many famous museums and institutions. This means they are kept there forever for people to see. Some of these places include:

• Brooklyn Museum, Brooklyn, NY
• Museum of Modern Art, NYC, NY
• National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC
• National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC
• Schomburg Center, New York Public Library, NYC, NY
• Studio Museum of Harlem, NYC, NY
• The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, Houston, TX

Art Exhibitions

Barboza's work has been shown in many exhibitions around the world. Here are some notable ones:

• 2024-2025 The ’70s Lens: Reimagining Documentary Photography, National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC
• 2010 Black Dreams/White Sheets, Bill Hodges Gallery, NYC, NY
• 2010 We Want Miles – Montreal Museum of Fine Arts, Montreal, Canada
• 2009 We Want Miles – Citi de la Musique, Paris, France
• 2006 Sheldon Art Gallery, St. Louis, Mo. (A show just for his work, Jazz Moves)
• 2001 Brooklyn Museum, NY (Group show, Committed to the Image: Contemporary Black Photographers)
• 1999 Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC (Group exhibit, Seeing Jazz)
• 1996 Robert Mann Gallery, NYC (A show just for his work, Piano for Days)
• 1990 Time-Life Tour (Group show Songs of My People)
• 1982 Studio Museum of Harlem, NYC (A show just for his work, Introspect)
• 1978 Museum of Modern Art, NYC (Group show, Mirrors and Windows: American since 1960)
• 1975 International Center of Photography, NYC (Group show Kamoinge Workshop)

Anthony Barboza's Personal Life

Anthony Barboza is married to Laura Carrington. She is an actress who starred in the 1984 Lionel Richie music video for his hit song, "Hello". Laura Carrington was also a groundbreaking actress on the daytime soap opera "General Hospital". She played the role of Simone Ravelle Hardy from 1987 to 1989.

Anthony and Laura have been married for over 25 years. They live in Westbury, New York with their three children: Danica, Alexio, and Lien Barboza. Anthony also has two older children, Leticia Barboza and Laryssa Gobets, from his first marriage.