Photograph of Etta Moten Barnett: Museum Object and Cultural History

The object in the museum catalogue

This is a black and white photograph of Etta Moten Barnett. It depicts her seated, wearing a sleeveless black dress. The dress has a sparkly belt around the waist. She is seated in profile to the camera, her right arm bent and the fingertips of her right hand resting in her lap. Her head is turned over her right shoulder, and her gaze is directed over her shoulder behind her. Adhered to the back of the photograph is a rectangular piece of paper with black typewritten text. The text reads “THE ‘CARIOCA’ GIRL / ETTA MOTEN / ---- the torrid blues / artist who sang the / ‘Carioca’ in the RKO / Radio musical ‘Flying / Down to Rio.” / IN PERSON / RKO PALACE / STARTING FRIDAY / MARCH 30TH.”

Materials, dates and provenance

• Date: ca. 1933
• Photograph by: Unidentified
• 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 3/16 × 7 3/8 in. (23.4 × 18.8 cm)
• Topic: African American
• Topic: Activism
• Topic: Actors
• Topic: Broadway Theatre
• Topic: Musical Theatre
• Topic: Radio
• Topic: Singers (Musicians)
• Topic: Women
• Object number: A2022.13.1.89
• 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.