Polaroid photograph of two works on canvas by Donna Summer: Museum Object and Cultural History

The object in the museum catalogue

A color Polaroid photograph taken by Donna Summer depicting two paintings by Donna Summer. The colorful abstract portrait paintings are shown sitting on a hardwood floor, leaning against a white wall. The taller portrait, on the left, is of a woman wearing a plum-colored dress set against a plain, blue-gray background. The woman has long, curly black hair and extends her proper right arm out to her side. In the top left corner of the portrait are a pair of dangling, bare legs. The second, smaller portrait depicts a woman in red with long black hair, standing in front of male figure. The woman is depicted from the bust-up, with the man partially visible over her shoulder. Both appear on the left side of the painting. The right side of the portrait has a light purple field at the bottom and blue-gray field at the top. Six red poppies are painted over the blue field. The back of the photograph 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: 2023.85.2.1
• 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.