for colored girls who have considered suicide / when the rainbow is enuf: Museum Object and Cultural History
for colored girls who have considered suicide / when the rainbow is enuf: Date: 1976. Illustrated by: Paul Brooks Davis, American, born 1938. Subject of: Ntozake Shange, American, 1948 - 2018.
The object in the museum catalogue
An illustrated poster for the choreopoem, “for colored girls who have considered suicide / when the rainbow is enuf,” by Ntosake Shange, featuring a painted, three quarters profile, upper body portrait of a young woman wearing a yellow head scarf, yellow tank top and gold and feather earrings. The portrait is of Ntozake Shange. She is standing against a white tile subway wall which has a single red tile stripe at the base of the wall. The main poster text is written in rainbow-colored, cursive, paint brushstrokes with simulated paint drips, and text reads, [For / Colored / Girls / who have / Considered / Suicide / When / The / Rain- / bow / is / Enuf]. In the top right corner is a box painted to appear like small tiles with white text against a dark red background that reads, [BOOTH THEATRE / 222 W. 45TH ST.] followed by a white, right pointing arrow. The artist's signature is in that bottom right corner, against a white tile.
Materials, dates and provenance
- Date: 1976
- Illustrated by: Paul Brooks Davis, American, born 1938
- Subject of: Ntozake Shange, American, 1948 - 2018
- Subject of: Booth Theatre, American, founded 1913
- Type: posters
- Medium: ink on paper.
- Dimensions: H x W: 46 1/8 × 22 15/16 in. (117.2 × 58.3 cm)
- Place depicted: New York City, New York, United States, North and Central America
- Topic: African American
- Topic: Drama (Theatre)
- Topic: Feminism
- Topic: Gender
- Topic: Identity
- Topic: Poetry
- Topic: Sexuality
- Topic: Women
- Object number: 2013.85.3
- Credit Line: Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture, Gift of Wopo Holup
- 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: © The New York Shakespeare Festival Permission required for use. Proper usage is the responsibility of the user.
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