Octavia and Danielle, Revlon Ball, Manhattan, NY, 1997: Museum Object and Cultural History

The object in the museum catalogue

A black and white photographic print depicting Octavia St. Laurent and Danielle Revlon, two competitors in the Femme Queen Realness category at the Revlon Ball in Manhattan, NY in 1997. Both Octavia and Danielle are posing leaning on a circular table in the foreground of the image. Each one leans with one hip and one hand on the table and the other hand on their hips. Octavia is on the left side of the image, wearing a black strapless bustier with ruffle details along the bustline and a sheer black button front shirt, unbuttoned and tied around her waist. Danielle, on the right, wears a dark-colored halter dress and a long strand of pearls triple-wrapped around her neck. Both Octavia and Danielle face a man, the ball's judge Tony Revlon, seated on the other side of the table. A small statuette trophy is sitting on the table. A large crowd of spectators are visible sitting and standing at a line of rectangular tables in the background. There are no inscriptions, front or back.

Materials, dates and provenance

• Date: 1997
• Photograph by: Gerard H. Gaskin, Trinidadian American, born 1965
• Subject of: Octavia Saint Laurent, American, 1964 - 2009
• Subject of: Danielle Revlon, American, died 1999
• Subject of: Tony Revlon, American
• Printed by: Light Work, American, founded 1973
• Type: inkjet prints
• Medium: ink on Canson Baryta photographique paper
• Dimensions: H x W (Sheet) : 16 × 20 in. (40.6 × 50.8 cm)
• Dimensions: H x W (Image) : 12 15/16 × 19 in. (32.9 × 48.3 cm)
• Place captured: Manhattan, New York City, New York, United States, North and Central America
• Topic: African American
• Topic: Communities
• Topic: Dance
• Topic: Fashion
• Topic: Gender
• Topic: Identity
• Topic: LGBTQ
• Topic: Music
• Object number: 2019.71.16
• 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: © Gerard Gaskin Permission required for use. Proper usage is the responsibility of the user.