Polaroid photograph of a work on canvas on an easel by Donna Summer: Museum Object and Cultural History

The object in the museum catalogue

A color Polaroid photograph of a painting on an easel by Donna Summer, taken by Donna Summer. The image is centered on an abstract portrait of a Native American man in regalia, sitting on an easel. The man is shown in bust pose on the right of the portrait, with his head turned towards his proper right shoulder. He is wearing white regalia with blue and gold detailing on the sleeves and collars, as well as a war bonnet with yellow and white feathers and blue and red ribbons framing his face. The man is painted against a red, black, and white striped background at the top and a yellow background at the bottom. The painting is resting against a thin white board. The portrait, and the wooden easel it is sitting on, partially obscures another painting resting on the floor behind it. The painting on the floor is highly abstract and set against a black background. It features horizontal black and yellow stripes as well as vertical blue, yellow, and black stripes. At the top center is a finger with a red fingernail just below a wedge shape with a leopard print pattern. The painting is resting on a medium brown wooden floor and leaning against a plain white wall. In the background is a set of windows with gray valence hanging above. The back of the polaroid is black with a white frame. The date and film code, [02111111089], is printed in the bottom left corner with [POLAROID ® 6] in the right corner.

Materials, dates and provenance

• Date: ca. 1991
• Photograph by: Donna Summer, American, 1948 - 2012
• Manufactured by: Eastman Kodak Company, founded 1889
• Type: dye diffusion transfer prints
• Medium: dye on photographic paper
• Dimensions: H x W x D (Sheet): 4 1/4 × 3 1/2 × 1/16 in. (10.8 × 8.9 × 0.2 cm)
• Dimensions: H x W (Image): 3 1/8 × 3 1/16 in. (7.9 × 7.8 cm)
• Place captured: Thousand Oaks, Ventura County, California, United States, North and Central America
• Topic: African American
• Topic: Art
• Topic: Composers (Musicians)
• Topic: Disco (Music)
• Topic: Photography
• Topic: Singers (Musicians)
• Object number: 2023.85.2.2
• 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: © Estate of Donna Summer Permission required for use. Proper usage is the responsibility of the user.