Photograph of Etta Moten Barnett by Carl Van Vechten: Museum Object and Cultural History

The object in the museum catalogue

This is a black and white photograph of Etta Moten Barnett by Carl Van Vechten. It depicts Etta Moten Barnett from the back, shown from the waist up. Her head is turned towards her left shoulder and her face is in profile to the viewer. She rests her left hand on her left hip. She wears a dark top with wide sleeves, a wide black stripe at the neckline and a keyhole closure in the back. She wears large hoop earrings with multiple pendants. In the background is a wall with a chain-link pattern. The photographer’s stamp is on the back.

Materials, dates and provenance

• Date: March 16 1934
• Photograph by: Carl Van Vechten, American, 1880 - 1964
• Subject of: Etta Moten Barnett, American, 1901 - 2004
• Owned by: Etta Moten Barnett, American, 1901 - 2004
• Type: gelatin silver prints
• Type: portraits
• Medium: silver and photographic gelatin on photographic paper
• Dimensions: H x W: 9 7/16 × 6 15/16 in. (24 × 17.7 cm)
• Place used: Chicago, Cook County, Illinois, United States, North and Central America
• Topic: African American
• Topic: Activism
• Topic: Actors
• Topic: Broadway Theatre
• Topic: Singers (Musicians)
• Topic: Women
• Object number: A2022.13.1.84
• 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: © Van Vechten Trust Permission required for use. Proper usage is the responsibility of the user.