Harry Belafonte: Museum Object and Cultural History

The object in the museum catalogue

A black-and-white photograph of Harry Belafonte, by Platon. The close-up of Belafonte depicts him from the shoulders up with his head slightly tilted towards the right edge of the photograph and the proper left side of his face cradled in the palm of his proper left hand. His proper right hand is wrapped around the wrist of his proper left arm. Belafonte has a smile on his face and is looking up, and to the left, into the distance. He is wearing a white dress shirt with an open collar. The background of the photograph is bright white. 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: 2009; printed 2019
• Photograph by: Platon, British, born 1968
• Subject of: Harry Belafonte Jr., American, 1927 - 2023
• Type: pigment prints
• Type: portraits
• Medium: pigment on paper
• Dimensions: H x W (image): 19 1/2 × 20 in. (49.6 × 50.8 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: Activism
• Topic: Actors
• Topic: Entertainers
• Topic: Photography
• Topic: Singers (Musicians)
• Object number: 2021.33.16
• 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.