John Coltrane Backstage, The Village Gate, New York City, 1961: Museum Object and Cultural History

The object in the museum catalogue

A black and white silver gelatin photograph of John Coltrane at The Village Gate, New York City, 1961. Dressed in a dark suit and bright shirt, holding a saxophone in his proper right hand, John Coltrane’s head is bowed in front of a mirror, and he looks down with his proper left hand touching his chin. There are unidentifiable objects in front of where he stands, backstage for an event. The twin palm emblem of Palm Press, Inc. is imprinted at the bottom right of the photographic sheet.

Materials, dates and provenance

• Date: 1961; printed 1995
• Photograph by: Herb Snitzer, American
• Subject of: John Coltrane, American, 1926 - 1967
• Signed by: Herb Snitzer, American
• Printed by: Palm Press, American, founded 1977
• Type: gelatin silver prints
• Medium: silver and photographic gelatin on photographic paper
• Dimensions: H x W (Image): 15 5/16 × 10 3/8 in. (38.9 × 26.3 cm)
• Dimensions: H x W (Sheet): 19 × 14 9/16 in. (48.2 × 37 cm)
• Place captured: New York City, New York, United States, North and Central America
• Topic: African American
• Topic: Entertainers
• Topic: Instrumentalists (Musicians)
• Topic: Jazz (Music)
• Topic: Men
• Topic: Music
• Topic: Musicians
• Topic: Photography
• Object number: 2019.62.7
• Credit Line: Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture
• 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: © Herb Snitzer Permission required for use. Proper usage is the responsibility of the user.