Mothers and Babies, London
Photograph
1965 (photographed), 2012 (printed)
1965 (photographed), 2012 (printed)
| Artist/Maker | |
| Place of origin |
Born in St. Elizabeth, Jamaica in 1945, photographer Armet Francis moved to London at the age of ten. By his mid-teens Francis was working as an assistant for a West End photographic studio. His early photographs offer a personal record of the world around him. The intimate scenes of everyday black British family life that he recorded were largely absent from media and cultural representation of the black British community at the time.
The V&A acquired nine photographs by Armet Francis as part of the Staying Power project. Photographs by his contemporaries Neil Kenlock and Charlie Phillips were also acquired as part of the project. Staying Power is a five year partnership between the V&A and Black Cultural Archives. The project aims to explore black British experience from the 1950s to the 1990s through photographs acquired by the V&A and oral histories conducted by Black Cultural Archives.
Object details
| Categories | |
| Object type | |
| Title | Mothers and Babies, London (assigned by artist) |
| Materials and techniques | Gelatin silver print |
| Brief description | Photograph by Armet Francis, 'Mothers and Babies, London', gelatin silver print, 1965, printed 2012 |
| Physical description | A black and white photograph of a black woman sitting on a bed holding two babies. A television is visible in the background. The room is decorated with floral wallpaper. |
| Dimensions |
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| Style | |
| Credit line | Supported by the National Lottery Heritage Fund. |
| Object history | The V&A acquired this photograph as part of the Staying Power project. Staying Power is a five year partnership between the V&A and Black Cultural Archives. The project aims to explore black British experience from the 1950s to the 1990s through photographs acquired by the V&A and oral histories conducted by Black Cultural Archives. |
| Subjects depicted | |
| Place depicted | |
| Summary | Born in St. Elizabeth, Jamaica in 1945, photographer Armet Francis moved to London at the age of ten. By his mid-teens Francis was working as an assistant for a West End photographic studio. His early photographs offer a personal record of the world around him. The intimate scenes of everyday black British family life that he recorded were largely absent from media and cultural representation of the black British community at the time. The V&A acquired nine photographs by Armet Francis as part of the Staying Power project. Photographs by his contemporaries Neil Kenlock and Charlie Phillips were also acquired as part of the project. Staying Power is a five year partnership between the V&A and Black Cultural Archives. The project aims to explore black British experience from the 1950s to the 1990s through photographs acquired by the V&A and oral histories conducted by Black Cultural Archives. |
| Associated objects | |
| Collection | |
| Accession number | E.108-2013 |
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| Record created | October 5, 2013 |
| Record URL |
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