Wendy, Manhattan, NY, 2013: Museum Object and Cultural History

The object in the museum catalogue

A color photographic print portrait of Wendy Ledesma, captured in Manhattan in 2013. Ledesma is pictured from the waist up, standing against a dark grey background. She wears a purple long-sleeve Henley shirt with a horizontal blue and yellow geometric pattern and a sleeveless jean jacket. A GMHC (Gay Men's Health Crisis) badge is around her neck and several pins are adhered to the proper left side of her jacket, around a skull patch. The pins include: a pinback button for OBB (Outstanding Beautiful Brothers), a pin with the Pan-African flag, a Union Jack pin, a National Black HIV/AIDS Awareness pin, a Hetrick-Martin Institute pin, and a pin that reads, "Free Speech / I Love My Cat." Ledesma is looking towards the camera with her chin held high. There are no inscriptions, front or back.

Materials, dates and provenance

• Date: 2013
• Photograph by: Gerard H. Gaskin, Trinidadian American, born 1965
• Subject of: Wendy Ledesma, American
• Subject of: GMHC, American, founded 1981
• Subject of: Hetrick-Martin Institute, American, founded 1979
• Subject of: Outstanding Beautiful Brothers, American, founded 2010
• Printed by: Light Work, American, founded 1973
• Type: portraits
• Type: inkjet prints
• Medium: ink on Canson Baryta photographique paper
• Dimensions: H x W (Sheet) : 20 × 16 in. (50.8 × 40.6 cm)
• Dimensions: H x W (Image) : 19 × 12 5/8 in. (48.3 × 32.1 cm)
• Place captured: Manhattan, New York City, New York, United States, North and Central America
• Topic: African American
• Topic: Communities
• Topic: Dance
• Topic: Fashion
• Topic: Gender
• Topic: Health
• Topic: Identity
• Topic: LGBTQ
• Object number: 2019.71.8
• Credit Line: Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture
• 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: © Gerard Gaskin Permission required for use. Proper usage is the responsibility of the user.