- Identification and Creation
-
- Object Number
- M23939.A-B
- People
-
Lorna Simpson, American (Brooklyn, NY born 1960)
- Title
- Backdrops Circa 1940's
- Classification
- Prints
- Work Type
- Date
- 1998
- Culture
- American
- Persistent Link
- https://hvrd.art/o/197407
- Physical Descriptions
-
- Medium
- Screen print on two sheets of thick white felt
- Technique
- Screen print
- Dimensions
- 66.6 x 85.2 cm (26 1/4 x 33 9/16 in.)
- Inscriptions and Marks
-
- inscription: verso in pencil on left and right panel: 5/35
- inscription: right panel: Lorna Simpson 98
- inscription: l.l left panel printed: ...seated in photographers studio, cira 1940's
- inscription: l.l right panel printed: ...standing while singing on film set, cira 1940's
- Provenance
- [G. W. Einstein Company, Inc., New York, New York], sold; to Harvard University Art Museums, September 8, 1998.
- State, Edition, Standard Reference Number
-
- Edition
- 5/35
- Acquisition and Rights
-
- Credit Line
- Harvard Art Museums/Fogg Museum, Margaret Fisher Fund
- Copyright
- © Lorna Simpson
- Accession Year
- 1998
- Object Number
- M23939.A-B
- Division
- Modern and Contemporary Art
- Contact
- am_moderncontemporary@harvard.edu
- The Harvard Art Museums encourage the use of images found on this website for personal, noncommercial use, including educational and scholarly purposes. To request a higher resolution file of this image, please submit an online request.
- Descriptions
-
- Commentary
- In this diptych Simpson represents a fragment of Lena Horne and a full view of an unidentified black woman. The backdrops are as telling as the figures; and this seems to carry through the intentions of Simpson's larger installations, which are often all backdrop, with figures and actions implied only through captions and titles.
- Exhibition History
-
This record has been reviewed by the curatorial staff but may be incomplete. Our records are frequently revised and enhanced. For more information please contact the Division of Modern and Contemporary Art at am_moderncontemporary@harvard.edu