Photograph of Billie Holiday and her dog Mister: Museum Object and Cultural History

The object in the museum catalogue

A silver gelatin print depicting a black-and-white image of Billie Holiday. She is depicted grasping the knob of a white French door, flanked by matching door-height windows. Her proper left foot is on the ground and her proper right foot is on the step above leading to the door. She wears a half hat decorated with beaded netting around the crown and flower embellishments on the proper right side. She is also wearing a dark belted dress, a medium toned cape, and holds a pair of dark gloves and a rectangular handbag in her proper left hand. A medium sized dog with pointed ears is seated on the ground below her. In the bottom left corner of the image is a handwritten inscription in black ink that reads, [To Laura / my girl / I'll always love you / Will never forget / The great thing / Lady Day]. On the back of the image is a stamp in black ink that reads, [Photography by / DAVID HAWKINS / HOTEL THERESA / N.Y.C.].

Materials, dates and provenance

• Date: ca. 1948
• Photograph by: David Hawkins
• Subject of: Billie Holiday, American, 1915 - 1959
• Subject of: Hotel Theresa, American, 1913 - 1967
• Type: gelatin silver prints
• Type: portraits
• Medium: silver and photographic gelatin on photographic paper
• Dimensions: H x W (Image): 9 5/8 × 7 7/16 in. (24.4 × 18.9 cm)
• Dimensions: H x W (Sheet): 10 1/16 × 7 15/16 in. (25.6 × 20.2 cm)
• Place made: New York City, New York, United States, North and Central America
• Topic: African American
• Topic: Blues (Music)
• Topic: Jazz (Music)
• Topic: Photography
• Topic: Singers (Musicians)
• Object number: 2013.46.25.89
• 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: Unknown - Restrictions Possible Rights assessment and proper usage is the responsibility of the user.