Mildred Hanson Baker

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Mildred Hanson Baker

Artist Prentice Hall Polk (American, 1898-1984)

Date1937

DimensionsOverall: 7 5/8 x 9 5/8 in. (19.4 x 24.4 cm)

MediumGelatin silver print

ClassificationPhotographs

Credit LinePurchased with funds given by an anonymous donor

Object number

1983.11

Not on View

Label TextIn 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.Exhibition History

Toledo Museum of Art, Being Modern: Fashion, Art & Identity, Sept. 2 - Nov. 27 2005.