Photograph of a female dancer in costume performing on stage: Museum Object and Cultural History

The object in the museum catalogue

A silver gelatin print depicting a black-and-white image of a female dancer in costume performing on stage. She is depicted in profile, facing a man who is hanging from the trunk of a partially depicted, fake, palm tree on the left side of the image. She is wearing a satiny bikini lined with sequins, elbow length white gloves, and a long feather plume in her hair. Her arms are raised above her head and her body is pushed up against the man’s proper left leg. The man is depicted with his arms wrapped around the trunk of the palm tree. His knees are raised, his feet are off of the ground, and the proper right side of his face is pressed against the tree trunk. He wears an expression of comical fear on his face. He is wearing a light collared shirt, medium toned tie, dark pants, and dark suspenders. In the mid-ground, on the right side of the image, is a man in a medium toned suit and tie, holding a microphone, and looking towards the dancer and the man hanging from the tree trunk. In the background are four bandstands with seated musicians behind them. The block text on each bandstand reads, [JOSE / CURBELO], with a graphic of a grand piano between the first and last names. An inscription in blue ink, written in the center of the image reads, [To my baby LaurE / All my love / (part of it anyway) / [---?]ni]. There are no inscriptions on the back of the photograph.

Materials, dates and provenance

• Date: 1942-1959
• Photograph by: Unidentified
• Subject of: Unidentified Woman or Women
• Subject of: Unidentified Man or Men
• Subject of: José Curbelo, Cuban American, 1917 - 2012
• Type: gelatin silver prints
• Type: portraits
• Medium: silver and photographic gelatin on photographic paper
• Dimensions: H x W (Image): 7 15/16 × 9 13/16 in. (20.1 × 24.9 cm)
• Dimensions: H x W (Sheet): 8 1/8 × 10 in. (20.7 × 25.4 cm)
• Topic: African American
• Topic: Dance
• Topic: Entertainers
• Topic: Instrumentalists (Musicians)
• Topic: Jazz (Music)
• Topic: Latin jazz (Music)
• Topic: Nightlife
• Topic: Photography
• Object number: 2013.46.25.138
• 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.