Photographic print of Sister Rosetta Tharpe: Museum Object and Cultural History

The object in the museum catalogue

A black-and-white photographic print of Russell Morrison and Sister Rosetta Tharpe. Russell Morrison is pictured on right side of the image. He is wearing a dark colored suit and a square patterned shirt. He is holding a cigarette in his right hand and has his left hand around Sister Rosetta Tharpe’s shoulder. Tharpe is seated in the right side of the image. She is wearing a light colored lace dress and is holding a light colored guitar on her knee. She is looking up toward Morrison and smiling. Printed in black text beneath the image is [SISTER ROSETTA THARPE / R. MORRISON, MGR. 1102 W. MASTER ST./ PHILA., PA.]. There are no inscriptions, front or back.

Materials, dates and provenance

• Date: 1950s
• Photograph by: Unidentified
• Subject of: Sister Rosetta Tharpe, American, 1915 - 1973
• Subject of: Russell Morrison, American
• Type: black-and-white photographs
• Type: photographic prints
• Type: portraits
• Medium: ink on paper
• Dimensions: H x W (image): 9 7/16 × 7 1/2 in. (24 × 19 cm)
• Dimensions: H x W (sheet): 10 9/16 × 8 5/16 in. (26.8 × 21.1 cm)
• Place captured: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States, North and Central America
• Topic: African American
• Topic: Families
• Topic: Gospel (Music)
• Topic: Instrumentalists (Musicians)
• Topic: Photography
• Topic: Singers (Musicians)
• Object number: 2014.98.20
• Credit Line: Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture, Gift of Gayle Wald
• 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: Public domain Proper usage is the responsibility of the user.