The Harder They Come
Photograph
c.1970s (photographed), 2012 (printed)
c.1970s (photographed), 2012 (printed)
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| Place of origin |
Grenadian born photographer Raphael Albert (1935-2009) was committed to celebrating the growing black population in Britain. Whilst living in Hammersmith, West London he began to organise and photograph a host of black beauty pageants from the 1960s to the 1980s, mostly targeted at women from the British Caribbean community.
Prizes for winning contestants often included music records. The woman on the corner of the makeshift stage displays the Jimmy Cliff record ‘The Harder They Come’ released in 1972, which accompanied the Jamaican crime film of the same name starring Cliff. Both the film and the music it featured helped to popularise reggae music in Britain, showing the mainstream success of Caribbean culture.
The V&A acquired seven of Albert’s photographs documenting beauty pageants and the British Caribbean community in London 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.
Prizes for winning contestants often included music records. The woman on the corner of the makeshift stage displays the Jimmy Cliff record ‘The Harder They Come’ released in 1972, which accompanied the Jamaican crime film of the same name starring Cliff. Both the film and the music it featured helped to popularise reggae music in Britain, showing the mainstream success of Caribbean culture.
The V&A acquired seven of Albert’s photographs documenting beauty pageants and the British Caribbean community in London 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.
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Object details
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| Materials and techniques | Gelatin silver fibre-based print |
| Brief description | Photograph by Raphael Albert, 'The Harder They Come', from the portfolio Black Beauty Pageants, gelatin silver print, Hammersmith, London, c. 1970s, printed 2012 |
| Physical description | A black and white photograph of spectators surrounding a low stage area. In the centre of the crowd there is a woman sitting on the edge of the stage wearing a satin wrap dress and bangles, she holds the Jimmy Cliff record 'The Harder They Come with the sleeve removed sitting behind her arm. The central woman and some of the crowd look upwards, out of the frame, but one man on her left wearing large aviator sunglasses looks directly out of the frame. |
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| Marks and inscriptions | (Autograph ABP stamped on verso) |
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| Credit line | Supported by the National Lottery through the Heritage Lottery 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 | Grenadian born photographer Raphael Albert (1935-2009) was committed to celebrating the growing black population in Britain. Whilst living in Hammersmith, West London he began to organise and photograph a host of black beauty pageants from the 1960s to the 1980s, mostly targeted at women from the British Caribbean community. Prizes for winning contestants often included music records. The woman on the corner of the makeshift stage displays the Jimmy Cliff record ‘The Harder They Come’ released in 1972, which accompanied the Jamaican crime film of the same name starring Cliff. Both the film and the music it featured helped to popularise reggae music in Britain, showing the mainstream success of Caribbean culture. The V&A acquired seven of Albert’s photographs documenting beauty pageants and the British Caribbean community in London 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. |
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| Collection | |
| Accession number | E.312-2013 |
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| Record created | February 7, 2013 |
| Record URL |
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