Movie still of Etta Moten Barnett singing The Carioca: Museum Object and Cultural History

The object in the museum catalogue

This is a black and white photograph of Etta Moten Barnett in her role as a cabaret singer in the 1933 movie Flying Down To Rio. In the picture, she stands in profile with her head turned over her left shoulder towards the viewer. She stands with her arms held away from her body and her hands open. She wears a loose off the shoulder light colored blouse with lace trim and a voluminous floor length flowered skirt, also with lace trim. There is a wide patterned scarf or sash wrapped around her waist and hips, and a basket of fruit balanced on top of a headwrap on her head. She wears a chunky necklace around her neck and bangles on her wrists. Behind her are tropical plants in large pots. In the bottom right corner is white text that reads "NY-7[?]7-157." The back of the photograph is blank.

Materials, dates and provenance

• Date: 1933
• Photograph by: Unidentified
• Owned by: Etta Moten Barnett, American, 1901 - 2004
• Subject of: Etta Moten Barnett, American, 1901 - 2004
• Type: gelatin silver prints
• Type: film stills
• Medium: silver and photographic gelatin on photographic paper
• Dimensions: H x W: 9 7/16 × 7 3/8 in. (24 × 18.8 cm)
• Place used: Chicago, Cook County, Illinois, United States, North and Central America
• Topic: African American
• Topic: Activism
• Topic: Actors
• Topic: Broadway Theatre
• Topic: Film
• Topic: Hollywood (Film)
• Topic: Singers (Musicians)
• Topic: Women
• Object number: A2022.13.1.85
• 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.