Reborn Trombonist: Museum Object and Cultural History

The object in the museum catalogue

A black-and-white photograph by Kenneth Royster of a group with a trombone player. The people in the image are wearing white and most are partially wet. The central figure, facing the camera, is an unidentified man wearing white pants, a white long-sleeved shirt, and a black tie. The middle of his shirt is partially transparent and he is holding a pair of white sneakers in his right hand. In his left hand is a King trombone and a small white towel. There is another figure behind this man with one foot visible. On the left side of the image is an unidentified woman wearing a loose white dress and white shoes. She is resting her left arm partially out of the image and is hunched over with her head toward the ground. The right side of the image shows two (2) children, a boy and girl, looking off to the right of the camera. The boy is wearing a white T-shirt and light-colored pants and is holding his hands in front of his body. The girl has on a loose white dress and her hair is pulled back from her face. Seated in a chair behind the children, an unidentified person is drying his or her head with a towel. The wall of a building with electrical boxes and a small table are visible in the background. There is a numerical inscription on the reverse.

Materials, dates and provenance

• Date: 1997
• Photograph by: Kenneth Royster, American, born 1944
• Subject of: Unidentified Child or Children
• Subject of: Unidentified Man or Men
• Subject of: Unidentified Woman or Women
• Type: gelatin silver prints
• Medium: silver and photographic gelatin on photographic paper
• Dimensions: H x W (image): 15 × 14 15/16 in. (38.1 × 37.9 cm)
• Dimensions: H x W (sheet): 20 × 16 in. (50.8 × 40.6 cm)
• Dimensions: H x W (matted): 22 × 28 in. (55.9 × 71.1 cm)
• Place depicted: United States, North and Central America
• Topic: African American
• Topic: Christianity
• Topic: Communities
• Topic: Instrumentalists (Musicians)
• Topic: Music
• Topic: Musicians
• Topic: Photography
• Topic: Religion
• Object number: 2018.41.4
• Credit Line: Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture, Gift of Kenneth Royster in honor of Prof. Samuel L. Green
• 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: © Kenneth Royster Permission required for use. Proper usage is the responsibility of the user.