Digital image of the ceremonial procession of Josephine Baker's cenotaph: Museum Object and Cultural History

The object in the museum catalogue

A digital, color image by D. Michael Cheers captures a procession of six French military officers carrying Josephine Baker’s ceremonial cenotaph while walking down a red carpet during Baker’s induction into France’s Pantheon mausoleum. The cenotaph is draped with a French flag. A seventh military officer is following behind the procession carrying a shadowbox display case holding Baker’s military medals. In the upper left corner, people are watching the ceremony. On the flat platforms ahead of the procession are black-and-white and color images of Josephine Baker.

Materials, dates and provenance

• Date: November 30, 2021
• Photograph by: Duane Michael Cheers Ph.D, American, born 1953
• Subject of: Josephine Baker, American, 1906 - 1975
• Type: digital media - born digital
• Medium: digital
• Dimensions: H x W: 3612 pixels × 6255 pixels
• Dimensions: File size: 12.11 MB
• Place depicted: Paris, France, Europe
• Topic: African American
• Topic: Activism
• Topic: Actors
• Topic: Funeral customs and rites
• Topic: International affairs
• Topic: Jazz (Music)
• Topic: Military
• Topic: Photography
• Object number: 2022.50.1
• Credit Line: Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture, Gift of D. Michael Cheers
• 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: © D. Michael Cheers Permission required for use. Proper usage is the responsibility of the user.