Dawoud Bey began his career as a photographer in 1975 with a series of photographs called Harlem, USA, which was later exhibited in his first one-person exhibition at the Studio Museum in Harlem in 1979. He has since had numerous exhibitions worldwide, at such institutions as the Art Institute of Chicago; Los Angeles County Museum of Art; National Portrait Gallery, London; and the Whitney Museum of American Art, New York. The Walker Art Center, Minneapolis, organized a mid-career survey of his work, Dawoud Bey: Portraits 1975-1995. A major publication of the same title was also published in conjunction with that exhibition. Class Pictures was published by Aperture in 2007.

“With his award-winning portraiture, Dawoud Bey captures the humanity of the people he photographs as well as the vibrancy of the communities where they live.” —PDN“Perhaps his greatest power as an artist lies here. In his ability to make work that changes the world without straying from complete normality.”—Ryan White, i-D