Untitled (Original AJASS Members l to r: Robert Gumbs, Frank Adu, Elombe Brath (seated), Kwame Brathwaite, Ernest Baxter & Chris Hall): Museum Object and Cultural History

The object in the museum catalogue

A black-and-white photograph, Untitled (Original AJASS Members l to r: Robert Gumbs, Frank Adu, Elombe Brath (seated), Kwame Brathwaite, Ernest Baxter & Chris Hall), by Kwame Brathwaite. The men are standing in a semicircle around Brath, who is seated at a drafting table at the center of the group. He is seated in three quarters pose, with his face turned towards the viewer, and has a serious expression on his face. With his proper left hand, he is lifting the bottom of a booklet sitting on the surface of the drafting table. Also on the drafting table is a piece of paper featuring Patrice Lumumba’s portrait. Brath’s proper right hand is resting in his lap. He is wearing a black suit, white dress shirt, and a light tone tie. On the far left is Gumbs, standing in three-quarters pose, facing the right edge of the image. He is smiling and looking at the viewer. He is wearing a black suit, white dress shirt, and a light tone tie. Next to him is Adu, standing behind Brath’s proper right shoulder. He is wearing a dark tone suit, white dress shirt, and a dark tone tie. Between Adu and Brathwaite, behind Brath’s proper left shoulder, is a medium format, packfilm, land camera. Brathwaite has his proper right hand on the top of the camera. He is standing in profile, facing the left edge of the photograph, with his head turned towards the viewer, and smiling. He is also wearing a black suit, white dress shirt, and a light tone tie. Next to Brathwaite is Baxter. He is facing the view and has a serious expression on his face. He is holding a cigarette between the fingers of his proper right hand, as well as a long-playing record album with text on the front that reads [GLORIA LYNNE / WITH THE EARL MAY TRIO / I'M GLAD THERE IS YOU] . Hall, standing on the far right, is holding another long-playing record album with text on the front that reads [Here 'Tis/Lou Donaldson]. The square shaped image has a thick white border. The back of the photograph is plain and white.

Materials, dates and provenance

• Date: ca. 1965; printed 2018
• Photograph by: Kwame Brathwaite, American, 1938 - 2023
• Subject of: Robert Gumbs, American, born 1939
• Subject of: Frank Adu, American, 1937 - 2018
• Subject of: Elombe Brath, American, 1936 - 2014
• Subject of: Kwame Brathwaite, American, 1938 - 2023
• Subject of: Ernest Baxter, American, born 1939
• Subject of: Christopher Hall, American, 1932 - 2005
• Subject of: African Jazz-Arts Society and Studios, American, founded 1956
• Type: portraits
• Type: inkjet prints
• Medium: pigment on paper (fiber product)
• Dimensions: H x W: 15 × 15 in. (38.1 × 38.1 cm)
• Place captured: Harlem, New York City, New York, United States, North and Central America
• Topic: African American
• Topic: Activism
• Topic: Actors
• Topic: African diaspora
• Topic: Art
• Topic: Associations and institutions
• Topic: Black power
• Topic: Design
• Object number: 2021.26.11
• 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: Courtesy of the Kwame Brathwaite Archive & Philip Martin Gallery, © Kwame Brathwaite Permission required for use. Proper usage is the responsibility of the user.