Photographic print of Hurby "Luvbug" Azor and Gumby the Greenback Monkey: Museum Object and Cultural History

The object in the museum catalogue

A black and white photograph of Hurby "Luvbug" Azor in his own backyard with Gumby the Greenback Monkey, Long Island, New York.

Azor is pictured sitting in a lounge chair with the monkey perched on his proper left arm. There are bushes in the background behind them and the arm and shoulder of someone sitting to Azor's left are just barely visible within the frame. AZor wears a long sleeve shirt with the sleeves rolled up, dark shorts, white socks, and dark shoes. He also wears sunglasses, a chain necklace, bracelets on each wrist and several large rings on each hand. The monkey's tail is across Azor's stomach and there is a leash in Azor's proper left hand.

On the back of the print are handwritten inscriptions by Bill Adler identifying the subject, location, date, and photographer.

Materials, dates and provenance

• Date: 1989
• Photograph by: Al Pereira, American, born 1963
• Subject of: Hurby Azor, Haitian American, born 1965
• Type: gelatin silver prints
• Medium: silver and photographic gelatin on photographic paper
• Dimensions: H x W (Sheet): 13 7/8 × 10 15/16 in. (35.2 × 27.8 cm)
• Dimensions: H x W (Image): 12 15/16 × 8 5/8 in. (32.9 × 21.9 cm)
• Place collected: Long Island, New York City, New York, United States, North and Central America
• Topic: African American
• Topic: Domestic life
• Topic: Hip-hop (Music)
• Topic: Musicians
• Topic: Photography
• Object number: 2015.132.282
• 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: © Al Pereira Permission required for use. Proper usage is the responsibility of the user.