Photograph of Tupac Shakur, Harlem: Museum Object and Cultural History

The object in the museum catalogue

A color photograph of Tupac Shakur in Harlem, 1995. Shakur, dressed in white and red, is raising his shirt to expose a [THUG LIFE] tattoo on his torso. He holds a cigar in his proper left hand and a bottle wrapped in a paper bag in his proper right. He wears a large cross medallion on his chest and a red and white bandanna tied around his head. The image is signed and dated by Michael Benabib on the front. An inscription on the back by Bill Adler identifies the subject, photographer, date and location.

Materials, dates and provenance

• Date: 1995; printed 2003
• Photograph by: Michael Benabib, American, born 1962
• Subject of: Tupac Amaru Shakur, American, 1971 - 1996
• Type: chromogenic color prints
• Type: portraits
• Type: digital prints
• Medium: dye and photographic gelatin on photographic paper
• Dimensions: H x W (Sheet): 14 × 11 in. (35.6 × 27.9 cm)
• Dimensions: H x W (Image): 13 9/16 × 9 3/16 in. (34.4 × 23.4 cm)
• Place captured: Harlem, New York City, New York, United States, North and Central America
• Topic: African American
• Topic: Hip-hop (Music)
• Topic: Musicians
• Topic: Photography
• Topic: Rappers (Musicians)
• Object number: 2015.132.132
• 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.