Billie Holiday: Museum Object and Cultural History

The object in the museum catalogue

A black and white gelatin photograph of Billie Holiday, 1974. Off stage at Carnegie Hall, Billie Holiday stands at the center of the image with her dark haired curled, and smiles leaning forward as she wears an off-shoulder floral patterned dress. A sparkling drop earring hangs from her proper left ear; she wears a dark bracelet on her proper right arm, jeweled cuff on her proper left arm and a ring on each hand. In the fingers of her proper left hand is a cigarette, her nails are darkly painted, and she holds a folded group of papers in both hands. An unidentified man wearing a dark jacket stands to her proper left. Behind her sits a dark-haired unidentified woman wearing an off-shoulder dress.

Materials, dates and provenance

• Date: 1956
• Photograph by: Hugh Cecil Lancelot Bell, American, 1927 - 2012
• Published by: Palm Press, American, founded 1977
• Subject of: Billie Holiday, American, 1915 - 1959
• Subject of: Unidentified Man or Men
• Subject of: Unidentified Woman or Women
• Subject of: Carnegie Hall, American, founded 1891
• Type: gelatin silver prints
• Medium: silver and gelatin on paper (fiber product)
• Dimensions: L x W (image): 9 1/8 × 6 1/8 in. (23.2 × 15.5 cm)
• Dimensions: L x W (sheet): 9 15/16 × 8 in. (25.2 × 20.3 cm)
• Place captured: New York City, New York, United States, North and Central America
• Topic: African American
• Topic: Entertainers
• Topic: Fashion
• Topic: Jazz (Music)
• Topic: Music
• Topic: Musicians
• Topic: Photography
• Topic: Popular music
• Object number: 2019.85.2
• Credit Line: Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture, generously supported by the Phillip and Edith Leonian Foundation
• 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: © The Estate of Hugh Bell Permission required for use. Proper usage is the responsibility of the user.