Beale Street: Museum Object and Cultural History

The object in the museum catalogue

A black and white photograph of an unidentified group of performers by Arthur Leipzig. There are six (6) individuals in the image and another figure wearing a hat partially visible on the right. At the left there is a woman in a dark top tucked into a knee-length skirt. She has both arms raised in front of her. Along the wall is an upright piano with a drum, wide brim hat, and coat resting on top. There is a man in a suit seated on a wooden chair playing the piano. In the corner, a man in a dark jacket, tie, and flat cap is watching the pianist. The man in the center of the photograph is looking directly at the camera. He has one foot resting on a washtub bass with his right arm leaning on his knee. The man is dressed in a suit and patterned tie. The woman standing next to him has her body angled toward him with her head turned toward the camera. She has both of her arms raised and elbows bent with her hands appearing in motion. She is wearing a patterned coat over a polka dot dress with white socks and black heels. To the right a girl is playing a banjo. She is wearing a long sleeved dress and smiling. The mostly bare walls of the room are visible along with a dark window and air conditioning duct. There are handwritten inscriptions, including the title, on the reverse.

Materials, dates and provenance

• Date: 1940s
• Photograph by: Arthur Leipzig, American, 1918 - 2014
• Subject of: Unidentified Man or Men
• Subject of: Unidentified Woman or Women
• Type: gelatin silver prints
• Medium: silver and photographic gelatin on photographic paper
• Dimensions: H x W (Image): 6 3/4 × 8 5/8 in. (17.1 × 21.9 cm)
• Dimensions: H x W (Sheet): 7 5/8 × 9 1/2 in. (19.4 × 24.1 cm)
• Place depicted: Beale Street, Memphis, Shelby County, Tennessee, United States, North and Central America
• Topic: African American
• Topic: American South
• Topic: Instrumentalists (Musicians)
• Topic: Music
• Topic: Musicians
• Topic: Nightlife
• Topic: Photography
• Object number: 2017.60.2
• Credit Line: Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture, Gift of Mildred Leipzig in memory of Arthur Leipzig
• 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: © Arthur Leipzig Permission required for use. Proper usage is the responsibility of the user.