Currently not on view
Currently not on view
At the time of this photograph, neither Billie Holiday nor Hazel Scott could perform live jazz: Holiday’s cabaret card had been revoked after a drug bust in the late 1940s; Scott was abiding by the wishes of her politician-pastor husband. Here Roy DeCarava’s sparing use of light—a hallmark of his aesthetic—shows a quiet moment in the their otherwise tumultuous lives, underscoring their enduring friendship.
DeCarava’s captivating, insightful portrayals of Harlem life made him one of the most respected and influential American photographers of the 1900s.
Currently not on view
| Title: | Billie Holiday and Hazel Scott at a Party |
| Date: | 1957 (negative); before 1999 (print) |
| Artist: | Roy DeCarava (American, 1919–2009) |
| Medium: | Gelatin silver print |
| Dimensions: | Image: 9 15/16 × 12 13/16 inches (25.3 × 32.6 cm) Sheet: 10 15/16 × 13 15/16 inches (27.8 × 35.4 cm) |
| Classification: | Photographs |
| Credit Line: | Purchased with funds contributed by Focus: Friends of Photography, 2018 |
| Accession Number: | 2018-203-1 |
| Geography: | Probably made in New York, New York, United States, North and Central America |
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Currently not on view