In 1933, the twins left Kentucky due to racism, and moved to Harlem New York, working as laborers at first. They eventually married identical twins who they shared an art class with. Only 3 years later on the same day the couples divorced. In 1939, the Smith brothers opened their own photographic studio on 125th Street called “M. Smith Photograpghy”, near the Apollo Theater. At …show more content…
The Smith brothers strived to depict their community in a good light. The Harlem studio remained open until 1968, during this time, the twins worked as sound technichians in televisions up until 1975 when they retired. The brothers connection was so strong that neither ever used the pronoun “I”. The twins were inseperable. People who knew them described them as being one person. Both brothers believed strongly in race pride and photographed the early civil rights movement in Harlem, boycotts, strikes, weddings, and everyday events. Due to lack of storage, most of their work was discarded and never seen again. Morgan Smith succumbed to testicular cancer, in turn Marvin had his own testicles