Photograph of Nina Simone recording the song "Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood": Museum Object and Cultural History

The object in the museum catalogue

A gelatin silver photographic print of Nina Simone captured during the recording of the song "Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood." Simone is pictured in a recording studio, standing with a group of musicians. She wears a dark colored top, with long beaded necklace and is behind a music stand spread with sheets of paper, another sheet of paper in her hand. There is one woman behind her and two women and a man to her proper left. In the foreground are seated musicans, one of whom plays a guitar. A stamp on the verso reads [Please Credit: / Photo by / Bernard Gotfryd].

Materials, dates and provenance

• Date: 1964
• Created by: Bernard Gotfryd, Polish American, 1924 - 2016
• Subject of: Nina Simone, American, 1933 - 2003
• Type: gelatin silver prints
• Type: portraits
• Medium: silver and photographic gelatin on photographic paper
• Dimensions: H x W: 10 x 8 in. (25.4 x 20.3 cm)
• Topic: African American
• Topic: Composers (Musicians)
• Topic: Instrumentalists (Musicians)
• Topic: Jazz (Music)
• Topic: Photography
• Topic: Popular music
• Topic: Resistance
• Topic: Singers (Musicians)
• Object number: 2011.132.6.3
• 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: No Known Copyright Restrictions Proper usage is the responsibility of the user.