Dress belonging to Etta Moten Barnett: Museum Object and Cultural History

The object in the museum catalogue

This is a patterned dress that Etta Moten Barnett wore in in a photograph by Van der Zee. The long dress has long bell sleeves and a high neckline. It has a thin patterned outer layer and a black lining. The outer layer has a black background with wide horizontal sections of pattern. Each horizontal section is banded at top and bottom by a double line of small blue flowers with a red center, or a double line of small red flowers with a blue center. In between are lines of small white flowers with a red center in a wave pattern and large red flowers with centers scattered throughout. There is a black fabric label sew inside the lining with white text that reads “STANLEY KORSHAK / CHICAGO.”

Materials, dates and provenance

• Date: 1960-1980
• Manufactured by: Stanley Korshak, American, founded 1909
• Owned by: Etta Moten Barnett, American, 1901 - 2004
• Type: dresses
• Medium: cloth and metal
• Dimensions: H x W: 56 1/4 × 18 7/8 in. (142.8 × 48 cm)
• Place purchased: Chicago, Cook County, Illinois, United States, North and Central America
• Place used: Chicago, Cook County, Illinois, United States, North and Central America
• Topic: African American
• Topic: Activism
• Topic: Actors
• Topic: Broadway Theatre
• Topic: Clothing and dress
• Topic: Fashion
• Topic: Singers (Musicians)
• Topic: Women
• Object number: A2022.13.1.18
• 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: Unknown – Restrictions Possible Rights assessment and proper usage is the responsibility of the user.