Song Praise: Museum Object and Cultural History

The object in the museum catalogue

A black-and-white photograph by Kenneth Royster of musicians. There are three (3) musicians performing in the image. Two (2) women are in the foreground, both wearing white. The woman on the left is singing into a microphone and has her arms raised. The woman on the right, wearing sunglasses and a headscarf, has one hand raised and is holding a single, large maraca in her right hand. Behind the women is a man in a baseball cap playing a keyboard. Parked cars and a tree line 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 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 (image): 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: Prayer
• Object number: 2018.41.14
• 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.