Michaela Coel photographed for Essence magazine: Museum Object and Cultural History

The object in the museum catalogue

A color photograph of Michaela Coel captured by Dana Scruggs for Essence magazine. The photograph of Coel, taken in Brooklyn, New York, depicts her in a twirling pose.

Coel is shown in full length, wearing a sleeveless blue dress with a deep, rounded neckline and a pleated, layered, maxi skirt. She is holding an edge of each of the skirt’s layers in each hand. Her arms are fully extended out to her sides and she is twirling the skirt, which is flowing in two different directions. Her body is turned towards the left edge of the image and her face is turned in the other direction, over her proper left arm. She is looking up and to the right. In the background is a reddish brown wall with peeling paint. Coel is standing slightly off center and has a diagonal spotlight falling on her. Coel’s hair is cropped short and she is wearing thick gold hoop earrings.

The photograph has white borders; two wide top and bottom borders, and two thin side borders.

The verso is plain white. In the bottom left quadrant, is the artist’s signature, the print’s edition number, and print date handwritten in black ink that reads [Dana Scruggs / 1/7 + 2 AP / 2022[underlined]].

Materials, dates and provenance

• Date: 2019; printed 2022
• Photograph by: Dana Scruggs
• Subject of: Michaela Coel, British, born 1987
• Subject of: Essence Magazine, American, founded 1970
• Type: portraits
• Type: inkjet prints
• Medium: ink on paper (fiber product)
• Dimensions: H x W (Sheet): 44 1/8 × 47 1/16 in. (112 × 119.6 cm)
• Dimensions: H x W (Image): 30 1/16 × 45 in. (76.4 × 114.3 cm)
• Place printed: Brooklyn, New York City, New York, United States, North and Central America
• Place captured: Brooklyn, New York City, New York, United States, North and Central America
• Topic: African American
• Topic: Actors
• Topic: Photography
• Topic: Singers (Musicians)
• Object number: 2022.32.4
• Credit Line: Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture, purchased through the American Women's History Initiative Acquisitions Pool, administered by the Smithsonian American Women's History Initiative
• 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: © Dana Scruggs Permission required for use. Proper usage is the responsibility of the user.