Roy Haynes: Museum Object and Cultural History

The object in the museum catalogue

A black-and-white photograph of Roy Haynes, by Platon. Haynes is depicted seated with his forearms resting on top of a hi-hat cymbal mounted on a stand. He is shown from the knees up, leaning forward over the cymbal. His body is leaning slightly towards the left side of the photograph. His head is turned towards the right and he is looking up and into the distance. The photograph was taken from just below his proper right hand which is resting over the far edge of the cymbal and appears disproportionately large in the foreground. He is wearing a cowboy hat, wraparound sunglasses, a black-and-white striped collared shirt, and black trousers. On the middle finger of his proper right hand is a ring with a square black stone at the center. 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 is plain and white.

Materials, dates and provenance

• Date: 2010; printed 2019
• Photograph by: Platon, British, born 1968
• Subject of: Roy Haynes, American, 1925 - 2024
• Type: pigment prints
• Type: portraits
• Medium: pigment on paper
• Dimensions: H x W (image): 21 × 20 in. (53.4 × 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: Instrumentalists (Musicians)
• Topic: Jazz (Music)
• Topic: Photography
• Object number: 2021.33.54
• 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.