Beuford Smith
Beuford Smith (American, 1936 – 2025), The Day After MLK was Assassinated, NYC, 1968
Beuford Smith (American, 1936 – 2025), Boy on Swing, Lower East Side, 1970
Beuford Smith (American, 1936 – 2025), Boy on Bus, Harlem, 1965
Beuford Smith (American, 1936 – 2025) Malcom X, Harlem, 1964
Beuford Smith (American, 1936 – 2025), Boys with Guns, Harlem, 1966
Beuford Smith (American, 1936 – 2025), Arrow, Brooklyn, 1970
Beuford Smith (American, 1936 – 2025), Police, c. 1970
Beuford Smith (American, 1936 – 2025), Cadillac, c. 1960s
Beuford Smith (American, 1936 – 2025), Man on Subway Train, NYC, 1971
Beuford Smith (American, 1936 – 2025), Business Men, Wall St. NYC, 1969
Beuford Smith (American, 1936 – 2025), Woman Sitting on Subway Stairs, c. 1970
Beuford Smith (American, 1936 – 2025), Untitled, c. 1970
Beuford Smith (American, 1936 – 2025), Untitled, c. 1970
Beuford Smith (American, 1936 – 2025), Woman in Window, Brooklyn, c. 1970
Beuford Smith (American, 1936 – 2025), Untitled, c. 1970
Beuford Smith (American, 1936 – 2025), Untitled, c. 1970
Beuford Smith (American, 1936 – 2025), Untitled, c. 1970
Beuford Smith (American, 1936 – 2025), Untitled, c. 1970
Beuford Smith (American, 1936 – 2025), Flag Day, Harlem, 1976
Beuford Smith (American, 1936 – 2025), Wall, Lower East Side, 1972
Beuford Smith (American, 1936 – 2025), Man with Roses, Harlem, 1968
Beuford Smith (American, 1936 – 2025), Graffiti, c. 1970
Beuford Smith (American, 1936 – 2025), Child with Reflection, Harlem, 1965
Beuford Smith (American, 1936 – 2025), 4 Children in Spanish Harlem, 1965
Beuford Smith (American, 1936 – 2025), East 12th Street Park, NYC, (Boy on Swing), 1968
Beuford Smith (American, 1936 – 2025), Boys Playing Game, c. 1970
Beuford Smith (American, 1936 – 2025), Subway Train Graffiti, 1969
Beuford Smith (American, 1936 – 2025), Spanish Harlem - 116th Street Market, 1968
Beuford Smith (American, 1936 – 2025), Spanish Harlem, c. 1970
Beuford Smith (American, 1936 – 2025), Untitled, c. 1960s
Beuford Smith (American, 1936 – 2025), The Day After MLK was Assassinated, NYC, 1968
Beuford Smith (American, 1936 – 2025), The Day After MLK was Assassinated, NYC, 1968
Beuford Smith (American, 1936 – 2025), The Day After MLK was Assassinated, NYC, 1968
Beuford Smith (American, 1936 – 2025), The Day After MLK was Assassinated, NYC, 1968
Beuford Smith (American, 1936 – 2025), The Day After MLK was Assassinated, NYC, 1968
Beuford Smith (American, 1936 – 2025), The Day After MLK was Assassinated, NYC, 1968
Beuford Smith (American, 1936 – 2025), The Day After MLK was Assassinated, NYC, 1968
Beuford Smith (American, 1936 – 2025), The Day After MLK was Assassinated, NYC, 1968
Beuford Smith: A Retrospective of Community, Witness, and History
February 11-March 12, 2026
A powerful retrospective exhibition of photographs by acclaimed African American photographer Beuford Smith will present an intimate and historic portrait of African American life, community, and resilience. Spanning decades of work, the exhibition brings together Smith’s enduring images of everyday life alongside his extraordinary photographic reportage captured on the streets of Harlem on the day of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s assassination.
Rooted in trust, proximity, and deep cultural knowledge, Beuford Smith’s photographs chronicle the lived experiences of African Americans with uncommon dignity and emotional clarity. His work moves fluidly between the ordinary and the historic—family gatherings, street scenes, moments of joy and struggle—revealing a community seen from within rather than observed from a distance.
At the heart of the exhibition is a rare and moving series taken on April 4, 1968, as news of Dr. King’s assassination reverberated through Harlem. Smith’s camera bears witness to the raw emotions of that day—grief, anger, disbelief, and solidarity—capturing a community in collective mourning and reflection. These images stand as both historical documents and deeply human records of a pivotal moment in American history.
Together, the retrospective underscores Smith’s role not only as an artist, but as a visual historian whose work preserves memory, affirms identity, and confronts injustice through presence and truth. His photographs remind viewers that history is lived on the streets, in faces, and in shared moments of reckoning.