Photograph of Hall Johnson and the Negro String Quartet: Museum Object and Cultural History

The object in the museum catalogue

A photograph of the Negro String Quartet. The photograph features four men sitting in chairs positioned in a semi circle around two music stands. The men are all dressed in suits. The men from left to right are: Felix Weir, Marion Cumbo, Hall Johnson, and Arthur Boyd. The photograph isin a green/gray paper frame. A stamp on the front of the paper frame reads: [S. Tarr / 164 West 125 St. / NY]. The back of the frame is blank.

Materials, dates and provenance

• Date: ca. 1923
• Photograph by: S. Tarr, American, active 1920s
• Subject of: Hall Johnson, American, 1888 - 1970
• Subject of: Felix Weir, American, 1884 - 1978
• Subject of: Marion Cumbo, American
• Subject of: Arthur Boyd
• Type: photographs
• Medium: silver and gelatin on photographic paper with paper (fiber product)
• Dimensions: H x W (Overall): 7 1/4 × 11 in. (18.4 × 27.9 cm)
• Dimensions: H x W (Photograph): 5 × 7 in. (12.7 × 17.8 cm)
• Dimensions: H x W (Frame): 7 1/4 × 11 in. (18.4 × 27.9 cm)
• Place printed: New York City, New York, New York, United States, North and Central America
• Topic: African American
• Topic: Classical (Music)
• Topic: Instrumentalists (Musicians)
• Topic: Men
• Object number: TA2013.166.1.1ab
• Credit Line: Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture, Gift of Dr. Eugene Thamon Simpson, Representative, Hall Johnson Estate
• 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 displayed image also has an explicit CC0 designation. The underlying object's rights statement is: Public domain Proper usage is the responsibility of the user.