Photograph of Etta Moten Barnett and a woman in African textiles: Museum Object and Cultural History

The object in the museum catalogue

This is a black and white photograph of Etta Moten Barnett and a woman in traditional African clothing. The image depicts Etta Moten Barnett wearing a long sleeved white blouse with a brooch at the neckline and a grey straight skirt. She is standing next to another woman who is wearing a long skirt in a traditional African textile pattern, and a short sleeve blouse in a different, darker pattern. Draped over her right shoulder is a length of textile with a lighter pattern. The textile has fringed and beaded ends. The woman is wearing a striped headwrap that Etta Moten Barnett is adjusting with both hands. Etta Moten Barnett is gazing at the woman. The woman is gazing directly ahead at the viewer. She is standing in front of a deep round carved wooden mortar on the floor and holds a long carved wooden pestle inside it with both hands. Both women stand inside a room with a large map of Africa on the back wall. Next to them is chest of drawers with textiles folded on top. A wicker chair and piles of objects are partially visible along the right-hand margin. The photographer’s stamp is on the back.

Materials, dates and provenance

• Date: ca. 1960
• Photograph by: Isaac Sutton, 1923 - 1995
• Subject of: Etta Moten Barnett, American, 1901 - 2004
• Subject of: Unidentified Woman or Women
• Owned by: Etta Moten Barnett, American, 1901 - 2004
• Type: gelatin silver prints
• Medium: silver and photographic gelatin on photographic paper
• Dimensions: H x W: 10 5/8 × 10 5/16 in. (27 × 26.2 cm)
• Topic: African American
• Topic: Activism
• Topic: Actors
• Topic: Africa
• Topic: Education
• Topic: Singers (Musicians)
• Topic: Women
• Object number: A2022.13.1.35.2
• 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: © Johnson Publishing Company Archive. Courtesy J. Paul Getty Trust and Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture Proper usage is the responsibility of the user.