Photograph of Sean Combs: Museum Object and Cultural History

The object in the museum catalogue

He is wearing a black tank top that reads [Sean John] in white, jeans, sunglasses, a ring and bracelet on his proper right arm, and a chain necklace with a large cross. The cross is on his proper right shoulder above a "Bad Boy" tattoo. He is pointing to the left with his proper right hand. He has a mustache and the background is black.

There is white space above and below the image. The back of the photograph has light grey text on the back, repeated in diagonal lines and facing the right side. There is a series of letters and numbers printed vertically down the top center. There is an inscription by Bill Adler at the bottom, handwritten in blue ink.

Materials, dates and provenance

• Date: 2001
• Photograph by: Michael Benabib, American, born 1962
• Subject of: Sean Combs, American, born 1969
• Subject of: Sean John, American, founded 1998
• Created by: Bad Boy Entertainment, American, founded 1993
• Type: portraits
• Type: inkjet prints
• Medium: ink on paper
• Dimensions: H x W (Sheet): 19 15/16 × 29 15/16 in. (50.7 × 76 cm)
• Dimensions: H x W (Image): 19 15/16 × 20 3/16 in. (50.7 × 51.3 cm)
• Topic: African American
• Topic: Fashion
• Topic: Gesture
• Topic: Hip-hop (Music)
• Topic: Musicians
• Topic: Photography
• Topic: Rappers (Musicians)
• Object number: 2015.132.119
• 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: © Michael Benabib Permission required for use. Proper usage is the responsibility of the user.