Mildred Hanson Baker
Artist: Prentice Hall Polk (American, 1898-1984)
Date: 1937
Dimensions:
Overall: 7 5/8 x 9 5/8 in. (19.4 x 24.4 cm)
Medium: Gelatin silver print
Classification: Photographs
Credit Line: Purchased with funds given by an anonymous donor
Object number: 1983.11
Label Text:In 1937, African American photographer P. H. Polk was a professor of photography at Tuskegee Institute in Alabama. He also owned a photography studio where he took portrait photographs of members of the local Black community. This photograph shows the influence of Hollywood publicity shots in which film studios promoted the glamorous image of their stars. The senior prom gown worn by Miss Baker in this photograph—designed and sewed by her mother—shows the pervasive 1930s bias-cut style, in which the seams are cut on a 45-degree angle to allow the gown to drape around the curves of the body. Such dresses with clinging materials and back-exposing designs were popularized by Hollywood stars like Claudette Colbert, Ginger Rogers, and African American actress Nina Mae McKinney.
Not on view
In Collection(s)