Research Catalog

Title

African Negro art : photographs / by Walker Evans.

Author

Evans, Walker, 1903-1975

Publication

1935.

Items in the Library & Off-site

Details

Description

• 477 items (1.2 cubic ft., four boxes); 25 x 19 cm and smaller (prints), 32 x 26 cm (mounts)
• 411 photographic prints : gelatin silver, black and white, mounted on paper ;
• 66 photographic prints : gelatin silver, black and white, mounted on paper ;

Summary

• Depictions of African art objects that were displayed in the "African Negro Art" exhibition held at the Museum of Modern Art, in New York City, from March 18-May 19, 1935, consisting of human and animal figure sculptures; busts; masks and headdresses; bracelets and necklaces; furniture, such as seats and head rests; common objects, such as utensils, bowls and cups; musical instruments; palm fiber textiles; bronze relief sculptures; and objects that may have served specialized functions, such as ornaments, bobbins, urns, bells, gong hammers, axes, and weights for measuring gold dust.
• Many objects are made of wood, though materials such as stone, terra cotta, ivory, brass, bronze, iron and gold leaf are also used. Some Yoruba terra cotta sculptures are plaster reproductions. Among the ethnic groups represented in the exhibition are the Senufo, Dan and Baule (Ivory Coast), Bambara and Dogon (French Sudan), Ashanti (Gold Coast), Yoruba (Dahomey, British Nigeria), Fan (Gabon), and various groups from the French Congo and Belgian Congo.

Subjects

• Gelatin silver prints > 1930-1939
• Art metal-work > Africa
• Wood sculpture, African
• Decorative arts > Africa
• Masks > Africa
• Sculpture > Africa
• Art objects, African
• Art, African > Exhibitions
• Museum of Modern Art (New York, N.Y.)

Genre/Form

Gelatin silver prints – 1930-1939.

Note

• Title based on catalog record for Museum of Modern Art's copy of portfolio, and typescript index for Schomburg Center's copy of portfolio, titled "African Negro Art: A Corpus of Photographs by Walker Evans."
• All photographs, except for the first image in the portfolio, bear a number, either printed or typeset, in lower left-hand corner of mount, and are arranged sequentially through numbers 2 to 477.
• The first portfolio image is missing lower left-hand and upper right-hand corners of mount. Some mounts show slight wear on edges. Many prints have been cropped. Some art objects are shown in multiple views.
• Portfolio consists of contact prints done on Azo paper manufactured by Kodak, and possibly Cyko contact paper, printed from 8 x 10 inch negatives; mounted editions of portfolio used Stanton Index 117M mounting paper. Source: Perfect Documents: Walker Evans and African Art, 1935, exhibition catalogue published by Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, 2000, pp. 32-38.
• Schomburg Center's copy of portfolio, which is a mounted edition, is one of seven sets, from a limited run of seventeen sets, that was given to a select group of museums and colleges chosen by the Museum of Modern Art's director Alfred H. Barr, executive-director Thomas D. Marby and the philanthropic group the General Education Board. Source: Perfect Documents, p. 38.

Terms of Use (note)

• Collection is under copyright; permission of the copyright holder is required for duplication.

Biography (note)

• Walker Evans (1903-1975) was an American documentary photographer best known for his work with the Resettlement Administration/Farm Security Administration (1935-1938); his 1936 collaboration with writer James Agee to document three rural tenant families in Alabama, published as "Let Us Now Praise Famous Men" (1941); his series of portraits of New York City subway riders (1938-1941); his contributions as special photographic editor to Forbes Magazine (1945-1965); and his late in life experimentation with Polaroid SX-70 color film (1973).

Publications (note)

• African Negro art / edited by James Johnson Sweenet. New York : Museum of Modern Art, c1935.
• Perfect documents : Walker Evans and African art, 1935 / Virginia-Lee Webb. New York : Metropolitan Museum of Art : Distributed by Harry N. Abrams, c2000.

Call Number

Sc Photo Portfolio (Evans, W., African Negro art)

OCLC

1285138199

Author

Evans, Walker, 1903-1975, photographer.

Title

African Negro art : photographs / by Walker Evans.

Production

1935.

Type of Content

still image

Type of Medium

unmediated

Type of Carrier

sheet

Terms Of Use

Collection is under copyright; permission of the copyright holder is required for duplication.

Biography

Walker Evans (1903-1975) was an American documentary photographer best known for his work with the Resettlement Administration/Farm Security Administration (1935-1938); his 1936 collaboration with writer James Agee to document three rural tenant families in Alabama, published as "Let Us Now Praise Famous Men" (1941); his series of portraits of New York City subway riders (1938-1941); his contributions as special photographic editor to Forbes Magazine (1945-1965); and his late in life experimentation with Polaroid SX-70 color film (1973).

Publications

African Negro art / edited by James Johnson Sweenet. New York : Museum of Modern Art, c1935.

Perfect documents : Walker Evans and African art, 1935 / Virginia-Lee Webb. New York : Metropolitan Museum of Art : Distributed by Harry N. Abrams, c2000.

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Research Call Number

Sc Photo Portfolio (Evans, W., African Negro art)