Print of Cab Calloway conducting his band with a large audience visible: Museum Object and Cultural History

The object in the museum catalogue

A black and white photograph of Cab Calloway on stage in front of his band. The image is captured from the bands' viewpoint on stage and a large audience is visible behind Calloway. Calloway stands at the center of the image, facing the band with his back to the audience, wearing an all white tuxedo. His hands are at his waist, a conductor's baton held up in his proper right hand. Only the backs of three band members are visible, all wearing light colored suit jackets. Just below the stage, audience members are seated at three tables, with champagne in buckets on top of the tables. Behind them, the rest of the audience stands. There are no marks or inscriptions, front or back.

Materials, dates and provenance

• Date: 1940s - 1960s
• Photograph by: Unidentified
• Subject of: Cab Calloway, American, 1907 - 1994
• Type: gelatin silver prints
• Medium: silver and photographic gelatin on photographic paper
• Dimensions: H x W (Image): 4 5/16 × 6 3/4 in. (10.9 × 17.1 cm)
• Dimensions: H x W (Sheet): 4 1/2 × 6 7/8 in. (11.4 × 17.5 cm)
• Topic: African American
• Topic: Composers (Musicians)
• Topic: Conductors (Musicians)
• Topic: Dance
• Topic: Jazz (Music)
• Topic: Singers (Musicians)
• Object number: 2013.237.13
• Credit Line: Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture, Gift of Cabella Calloway Langsam
• 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 displayed image also has an explicit CC0 designation. The underlying object's rights statement is: Public domain Proper usage is the responsibility of the user.