Film still of a group of people gathered around a piano: Museum Object and Cultural History

The object in the museum catalogue

A silver gelatin print of a black-and-white image of a film still depicting group of people gathered around a piano. Seven (7) women and six (6) men are depicted sitting and standing in a semicircle around a piano. The piano is centrally depicted and one (1) man sits on the piano bench with his proper left hand on the keys. He is facing four (4) women seated on a couch on the left side of the image. One (1) woman, Birdie Warfield Edison, stands behind the man seated at the piano. On the right side of the image, are two (2) women seated on a chair. Five (5) men stand behind the piano. One of the men is leaning on the end of a small wooden staff. He is wearing a brimmed cap, overalls, and a white shirt. The other four (4) men standing around the piano, and the man seated on the piano bench, are all wearing matching light colored suits, white button down shirts, floral patterned ties, and white pocket squares in their left breast pockets. In the foreground, in front of the couch and chair arms, are matching end tables. The piano is draped in cloth and there is a wide lipped vase filled with flowers on top. There is a large fireplace behind the women on the left side of the image. There are no inscriptions on the front or back of the photograph.

Materials, dates and provenance

• Date: 1933-1950
• Photograph by: Unidentified
• Subject of: Birdie Warfield Edison, American
• Subject of: Unidentified Man or Men
• Subject of: Unidentified Woman or Women
• Type: gelatin silver prints
• Type: portraits
• Medium: silver and photographic gelatin on photographic paper
• Dimensions: H x W (Image): 7 5/16 × 9 1/4 in. (18.6 × 23.5 cm)
• Dimensions: H x W (Sheet): 8 1/8 × 10 in. (20.7 × 25.4 cm)
• Topic: African American
• Topic: Instrumentalists (Musicians)
• Topic: Music
• Topic: Photography
• Object number: 2013.46.25.147
• Credit Line: Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture
• Data Source: National Museum of African American History and Culture

Sources and reuse

Catalogue descriptions and facts adapted from National Museum of African American History and Culture through the Smithsonian's official Open Access dataset. This record explicitly marks its metadata CC0 1.0; formatting and selection have been changed. The underlying object's rights statement is: Unknown - Restrictions Possible Rights assessment and proper usage is the responsibility of the user.