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Museum object · Photographs and Still Images

Photograph of a woman, Birtie

early 20th-mid 20th century

New York City, New York, United States, North and Central America

COLLECTION RECORDImage not availableExplore the catalog description and source record.
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Source catalog description

This description refers to material held by Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture. Visual details below describe the original material.

A silver gelatin print depicting a black-and-white image of a woman. The woman is depicted from the knees up. She is standing in deep shadow against a black background. She is depicted, facing the viewer, with her head slightly turned and looking towards the bottom right corner of the image. She is nude and is holding a bouquet of flowers to her chest. A piece of fabric is piled on the floor in the lower left corner of the image. An inscription in white ink, written in the top left corner of the image reads, [To Sally / keep on going up / Your friend / Birtie]. The photographer's mark, printed in the negative, located in the bottom right corner reads, [James J. Kriegsmann / N.Y.]. There are no inscriptions on the back of the photograph.

Sources & collection details

Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture — original record ↗

Source collection ↗

Catalog metadata · CC0 · Source checked 2026-10-13

Catalog reference: 2013.46.25.141

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