Photograph of Gladys Bentley: Museum Object and Cultural History

The object in the museum catalogue

A silver gelatin print depicting a black-and-white image of entertainer Gladys Bentley. Bentley is depicted standing in three quarters profile with her head turned towards the viewer, and her proper right foot forward. She is wearing a white tuxedo, top hat, and she is holding a cane under her proper right arm. A bar with bottles lining the shelves is the background. There is a low, white, metal rail on either side of Bentley. The photographer's mark, printed in the negative, located at the bottom right corner reads, [Canell [?]/ / NY. There are also additional pencil notations written on the back of the photograph.

Materials, dates and provenance

• Date: ca. 1940
• Photograph by: Unidentified
• Subject of: Gladys Bentley, American, 1907 - 1960
• Type: gelatin silver prints
• Type: portraits
• Medium: silver and photographic gelatin on photographic paper
• Dimensions: H x W (Image): 9 5/16 × 7 5/16 in. (23.7 × 18.6 cm)
• Dimensions: H x W (Sheet): 10 × 7 15/16 in. (25.4 × 20.2 cm)
• Place made: New York City, New York, United States, North and Central America
• Topic: African American
• Topic: Blues (Music)
• Topic: Entertainers
• Topic: Instrumentalists (Musicians)
• Topic: Nightlife
• Topic: Photography
• Topic: Theatre
• Object number: 2013.46.25.82
• 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.