Photograph of Marty May: Museum Object and Cultural History

The object in the museum catalogue

A silver gelatin print depicting a black-and-white image of Marty May. May is depicted from the chest up, against a white background, cast with shadows. His proper left shoulder is slightly forward and he is looking towards the right edge of the image. May is wearing a medium toned suit, a white collared shirt, and a medium toned, striped tie. He has a white pocket square in his proper left breast pocket. May’s hair is smoothed back and parted down the center. Along the right edge of the photograph is a handwritten inscription in black ink that reads, [To / Laure / Sincerely / Marty May]. The photographer's mark, printed in the negative, located in the bottom right corner reads, [DeMuyian[?] [underlined] / of / New York – Hollywood]. There are no inscriptions on the back of the photograph.

Materials, dates and provenance

• Date: mid 20th century
• Photograph by: Unidentified
• Subject of: Marty May, American, 1898 - 1975
• Type: gelatin silver prints
• Type: portraits
• Medium: silver and photographic gelatin on photographic paper
• Dimensions: H x W (Image): 9 7/16 × 7 9/16 in. (23.9 × 19.2 cm)
• Dimensions: H x W (Sheet): 9 15/16 × 8 1/16 in. (25.2 × 20.5 cm)
• Topic: African American
• Topic: Actors
• Topic: Film
• Topic: Hollywood (Film)
• Topic: Photography
• Topic: Theatre
• Object number: 2013.46.25.184
• 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.