Bob Dylan Performs: Museum Object and Cultural History

The object in the museum catalogue

A silver gelatin print depicting a black-and-white image of Bob Dylan playing to a crowd of participants in front of the Lincoln Memorial during the March on Washington on August 28, 1963. A crowd of participants is sitting in rows of folding chairs facing a podium on the steps on the Lincoln Memorial. Bob Dylan stands at the podium, playing a guitar. To the left and the right of the podium are small groups of servicemen holding American flags. At the bottom of the stairs is a line of policemen.

On the verso of the image are handwritten inscriptions that provide the image title, image date, event information, location, image number, the name of the printer, and the signature of the donor. There are also two (2) stamp marks in black ink in the bottom right corner of the verso.

Materials, dates and provenance

• Date: August 28, 1963; printed 2013
• Photograph by: Leonard Freed, American, 1929 - 2006
• Subject of: Bob Dylan, American, born 1941
• Subject of: Unidentified Man or Men
• Subject of: Unidentified Woman or Women
• Subject of: March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom, American, founded 1963
• Printed by: Brigitte Freed, American
• Printed by: Pablo Inirio
• Type: gelatin silver prints
• Medium: silver and photographic gelatin on photographic paper
• Dimensions: H x W (Image): 8 7/8 × 13 1/8 in. (22.5 × 33.3 cm)
• Dimensions: H x W (Sheet): 11 × 14 in. (27.9 × 35.5 cm)
• Place captured: Washington, District of Columbia, United States, North and Central America
• Place printed: New York City, New York, United States, North and Central America
• Topic: African American
• Topic: Activism
• Topic: Civil Rights
• Topic: Folk (Music)
• Topic: Local and regional
• Topic: Photography
• Topic: Politics
• Topic: Race relations
• Object number: 2016.123.1.11
• Credit Line: Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture, Gift of Brigitte Freed in memory of Leonard Freed
• 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: © Leonard Freed & Magnum Photos, Inc Permission required for use. Proper usage is the responsibility of the user.