Photograph of Dewey "Pigmeat" Markham depicted in blackface: Museum Object and Cultural History
Photograph of Dewey "Pigmeat" Markham depicted in blackface: Date: 1936. Photograph by: Unidentified. Subject of: Dewey Markham, American, 1904 - 1981.
The object in the museum catalogue
A silver gelatin print depicting a black-and-white image of Dewey "Pigmeat" Markham depicted in blackface and shown in profile. Markham is wearing a boater hat, oxfords, and a dark suit with medium toned embellishments on the lapels, breast pocket, side pocket, wrists and pant seam. He has large, white painted lips. He is crouched over with his fists clenched and appears to be walking forward. He is posing in front of a wall, with a staircase visible in the left background. The front of the image has been marked in pencil with crop lines. There are several inscriptions in pencil on the back, including a paragraph about Markham on the bottom half that reads [The Personification of Trucking / -Cut- / Pigmeat Markham / Known the country over today / as the greatest living colored / Comedian. At present Pigmeat is / in his second successful / week in philadelphia where / this month he began what will / develop into 40 wk of truckin and / what have you.].
Materials, dates and provenance
- Date: 1936
- Photograph by: Unidentified
- Subject of: Dewey Markham, American, 1904 - 1981
- Type: gelatin silver prints
- Type: portraits
- Medium: silver and photographic gelatin on photographic paper
- Dimensions: H x W (Image and sheet): 9 15/16 × 8 in. (25.3 × 20.3 cm)
- Place captured: New York City, New York, United States, North and Central America
- Topic: African American
- Topic: Actors
- Topic: Blackface
- Topic: Dance
- Topic: Entertainers
- Topic: Photography
- Topic: Singers (Musicians)
- Topic: Stereotypes
- Object number: 2013.46.25.2
- 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.
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