Photograph of the Berry Brothers: Museum Object and Cultural History

The object in the museum catalogue

A silver gelatin print depicting a black-and-white image of the Berry Brothers. The young men are depicted standing against a white background, posing in different orientations. All three young men are wearing black tuxedoes with tails, white vests, and white bow ties and holding top hats. Nyas Berry is depicted on the far left. He is holding his top hat above his proper left shoulder with his proper left hand while holding a white cane upside down in his proper right hand. He is looking towards the top left corner of the image. Warren Berry is depicted in the center, facing Nyan Berry. He is standing with his legs apart, holding his top hat in his proper right hand at his waist and his proper left hand is held at his chest. James Berry is depicted on the right. He is standing in three-quarters profile, looking forward toward the top edge of the image. He is holding his top hat in his proper right hand at his chest and his proper left hand is held at his waist. A handwritten inscription in black ink in the lower right quadrant of the image reads, [To / Laura / A Real / Person / Cheerfully / Berry Bud[?]].The photographer's mark, printed in the negative, located in the bottom left corner reads, [Murray / Korman / N.Y.]. There are no inscriptions on the back of the photograph.

Materials, dates and provenance

• Date: ca. 1943
• Photograph by: Murray Korman, American, 1902 - 1961
• Subject of: Nyas Berry, American, 1913 - 1951
• Subject of: James Berry, American, 1915 - 1969
• Subject of: Warren Berry, American, 1922 - 1996
• Subject of: Berry Brothers, American, 1929 - 1951
• Type: gelatin silver prints
• Type: portraits
• Medium: silver and photographic gelatin on photographic paper
• Dimensions: H x W (Image): 9 11/16 × 7 3/4 in. (24.6 × 19.7 cm)
• Dimensions: H x W (Sheet): 10 1/16 × 8 1/8 in. (25.6 × 20.7 cm)
• Place made: New York City, New York, United States, North and Central America
• Topic: African American
• Topic: Children
• Topic: Comedy
• Topic: Entertainers
• Topic: Photography
• Topic: Tap dancing
• Topic: Vaudeville
• Object number: 2013.46.25.108
• 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.