Ancestral figure

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V&A South Kensington
Prints & Drawings Study Room, level F

Artist/Maker	Walker Evans (photographer)
Place of origin	New York (photographed)

Photograph of an ancestral figure from an exhibition of African art

Object details

Categories	Africa Photographs Black History
Object type	Photograph
Title	Ancestral figure (generic title)
Materials and techniques	Photograph Photography
Brief description	Photograph by Walker Evans depicting a carved figure from French Sudan (modern day Mali) in an exhibition entitled 'African Negro Art' at the Museum of Modern Art. New York, 1935.
Physical description	Photograph of an ancestral figure from an exhibition of African art
Dimensions	Photograph height: 234mm Photograph width: 118mm Green card mount height: 330mm Green card mount width: 267mm White board mount height: 530mm White board mount width: 380mm Pasted to green card: 330 x 267 mm.
Production type	Limited edition
Marks and inscriptions	X.202 / NEW YORK: Museum of Modern Art. / Exhibition of African Negro Art, 1935. / [Photo. No. 4] (Label on mount) 4 Ancestral figure (Catalog no. 2) / French Sudan. Senufo / Wood. 35 inches high / Collection André Derain, Paris (Label on mount)
Gallery label	(27 November 2018) Cast Courts Reinstallation, 27 November 2018 17. FACSIMILE PHOTOGRAPH OF 'Ancestral figure' Walker Evans, 1935 In 1935, this carved figure from French Sudan (modern day Mali) was recorded by the artist-photographer, Walker Evans, at an exhibition titled African Negro Art at the Museum of Modern Art in New York. This was the first major exhibition of African art in the West. Soonafter, the V&A bought a complete set of photographs of the exhibition to broaden its collections relating to sculpture. For audiences today, these photographs record not only the objects in the exhibition but past approaches to language and curatorship. The term 'negro' is repeated here in its original historical context. REPRODUCED FROM silver gelatin print New York, USA Museum no. 1997-1936
Object history	NB: The term "negro" was used historically to describe people of black African heritage but, since the 1960s, has fallen from usage and, increasingly, is considered offensive. The term is repeated here in its original historical context. The Museum of Modern Art, New York, commissioned Walker Evans to photograph its African Negro Art exhibition of 1935. He produced 477 images and 17 sets of these images were printed, one of which the V&A bought for $50.
Subjects depicted	Sculpture Figures
Bibliographic references	African Negro Art New York: Museum of Modern Art, c. 1935. 58p., [82]p of plates. AFRICAN NEGRO ART Photographs by Walker Evans List of Photographs The Museum of Modern Art, New York, 1935 African Negro Art Edited by James Johnson Sweeney, The Museum of Modern Art, New York, 1935
Collection	Prints, Drawings & Paintings Collection
Accession number	1997-1936

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Record created	July 1, 2009
Record URL	https://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O1100299/ancestral-figure-photograph-walker-evans/

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