Prince: Museum Object and Cultural History

The object in the museum catalogue

A black-and-white pigment photograph studio portrait of Prince, captured by Platon in 2004. The close-up of Prince depicts him from the neck up, facing the viewer with a serious expression on his face. He has a thin mustache, and his hair is worn in curls on top of his head. Tied around his neck is a dark neckerchief with white polka dots and a metal chain underneath. He is also wearing a medium tone collared shirt. The background of the photograph is bright white. The photograph has a thick white border. The edition number, [5/12], is printed in the bottom left corner. The photographer’s signature and date, [Platon 19], is handwritten in the bottom right corner. Inside the border, at the bottom center, is the photographer’s embossed mark: [PLATON ? / EDITIONED ? / PRINT ?[encircled between two bands of embossed dots]]. The back of the photograph has no marks or inscriptions.

Materials, dates and provenance

• Date: 2004; printed 2019
• Photograph by: Platon, British, born 1968
• Subject of: Prince, American, 1958 - 2016
• Type: pigment prints
• Type: portraits
• Medium: pigment on paper
• Dimensions: H x W (image): 20 15/16 × 20 in. (53.2 × 50.8 cm)
• Dimensions: H x W (sheet): 24 × 20 in. (61 × 50.8 cm)
• Dimensions: H x W (matted): 22 × 28 in. (55.9 × 71.1 cm)
• Place printed: New York City, New York, United States, North and Central America
• Topic: African American
• Topic: Funk (Music)
• Topic: Hip-hop (Music)
• Topic: Instrumentalists (Musicians)
• Topic: Photography
• Topic: Popular music
• Topic: Rhythm and blues (Music)
• Topic: Singers (Musicians)
• Object number: 2021.33.47
• Credit Line: Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture, Gift of Platon
• 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: © Platon Permission required for use. Proper usage is the responsibility of the user.