The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of December 18, 2025

Early Morning Coffee, Harlem

1974, printed c. 1992–93

Chester Higgins

(American, b. 1946)
America
gelatin silver print
Image: 38.9 x 57.9 cm (15 5/16 x 22 13/16 in.); Paper: 50.3 x 60.7 cm (19 13/16 x 23 7/8 in.)
Dudley P. Allen Fund 2021.136
Location: Not on view

Did You Know?

Chester Higgins Jr., who was raised in Alabama, moved to New York City in 1970 after college.

Description

Early morning coffee, Harlem, which shows a man sitting in a neighborhood diner, is a study in light and dark; a portrait; and a photographic, daylight response to Edward Hopper’s 1942 Night Hawks. Higgins explained his process by saying that “light, perspective, and points in time are the pivotal elements I use to reveal an interior presence within my subjects as I search for what I identify as the Signature of the Spirit.”
  • 1992-2021
    Chester Higgins, Jr. (the artist) [1946-]
    2021
    (Bruce Silverstein Gallery, New York, NY)
    September 13, 2021-
    The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
  • {{cite web|title=Early Morning Coffee, Harlem|url=false|author=Chester Higgins|year=1974, printed c. 1992–93|access-date=18 December 2025|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/2021.136