M. Makeba & H. Masekela: Museum Object and Cultural History

The object in the museum catalogue

This is a black and white photograph of Miriam Makeba and Hugh Masekela. Makeba is seen on the left with Masekela on the right. Makeba has her proper left arm over the shoulders of Masekela and is slightly turned toward him. She is seen smiling with her eyes closed. She wears a geometric patterned wrap around her upper torso and arms. Masekela is captured looking at the camera, also smiling. He holds a flugelhorn in front of him. He wears a tie-dye shirt with an open collar. The image appears to be captured in a moment of movement. The image is bordered in a narrow band of black from the negative frame on a white background. Below the image is handwritten text which lists the title and date as well as the artist's signature.

Materials, dates and provenance

• Date: 1980
• Photograph by: Anthony Barboza, American, born 1944
• Subject of: Miriam Makeba, South African, 1932 - 2008
• Subject of: Hugh Masekela, South African, born 1939
• Type: gelatin silver prints
• Type: portraits
• Medium: silver and photographic gelatin on photographic paper
• Dimensions: H x W (sheet): 8 5/8 × 8 in. (21.9 × 20.3 cm)
• Dimensions: H x W (image): 7 1/2 × 7 3/4 in. (19.1 × 19.7 cm)
• Topic: African American
• Topic: Instrumentalists (Musicians)
• Topic: Photography
• Topic: Singers (Musicians)
• Object number: 2014.152.6
• 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: © Anthony Barboza Permission required for use. Proper usage is the responsibility of the user.