Rare signed photograph of the American author, inscribed "Richard Wright / Sincerely yours" ca. 1939 during the period between Wright's first success with Uncle Tom's Children (1938) and his leap to fame with Native Son (1940). Small format bust portrait, possibly by Carl Van Vechten who photographed Wright around this time in identical jacket and tie. Nicely double matted and framed, unexamined out of frame but in apparently fine condition apart from an unobtrusive crease visible upper left. 3.25 x 4 inches; 8 x 10 cm (visible); overall 8.5 x 9 inches; 21 x 23 cm.

Richard Wright, one of the most important American novelists of the 20th century, was the author of numerous fiction and non-fiction volumes, most notably Native Son and The Outsider. Much of his literature concerns racial themes, especially related to the plight of African Americans during the late 19th to mid-20th centuries, who suffered discrimination and violence in the South and the North. Literary critics believe his work helped change race relations in the United States in the mid-20th century. He moved to Paris in 1946, never again living in the United States.