Questlove: Museum Object and Cultural History

The object in the museum catalogue

A color photograph of Questlove, by Platon. Questlove is depicted from the waist up, behind a wooden table, with his elbows propped on the table surface. He is facing the viewer with his arms are folded over his chest, head is turned slightly towards his proper right shoulder, and with his eyes are closed. He is wearing a black suit jacket over a gray hoodie. He’s also wearing thick, black rimmed glasses and has an Afro pick woven into his hair on the proper right side of his head. He has a trimmed mustache and beard. The table appears to be constructed from thick horizontal slabs of bleached wood. The background of the photograph is champagne pink. The photograph has a thick white border. The edition number, [5/12], is printed in the bottom left corner. The photographer’s signature and date, [Platon 19], is handwritten in the bottom right corner. Inside the border, at the bottom center, is the photographer’s embossed mark: [PLATON ? / EDITIONED ? / PRINT ?[encircled between two bands of embossed dots]]. The back of the photograph is plain and white.

Materials, dates and provenance

• Date: 2014; printed 2019
• Photograph by: Platon, British, born 1968
• Subject of: Questlove, American, born 1971
• Type: pigment prints
• Type: portraits
• Medium: pigment on paper
• Dimensions: H x W (image): 19 3/4 × 15 15/16 in. (50.2 × 40.5 cm)
• Dimensions: H x W (sheet): 24 × 20 in. (61 × 50.8 cm)
• Dimensions: H x W (matted): 22 × 28 in. (55.9 × 71.1 cm)
• Place printed: New York City, New York, United States, North and Central America
• Topic: African American
• Topic: DJs (Musicians)
• Topic: Film
• Topic: Instrumentalists (Musicians)
• Topic: Journalism
• Topic: Musicians
• Topic: Photography
• Object number: 2021.33.58
• Credit Line: Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture, Gift of Platon
• 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: © Platon Permission required for use. Proper usage is the responsibility of the user.