"Beautiful Bride"

c. 1930

James Van Der Zee

Associated Names
James Van Der Zee

Artist, American, 1886 - 1983

This black-and-white photograph shows a tall woman standing upright in a long, draping gown. She is positioned in the center of the image, her body angled toward us, and she looks off to the left, smiling. The woman has dark skin and curly black hair adorned with a band of small, white flowers. She has a white earring in her ear and wears a delicate necklace. She wears a long, elegant, long-sleeved gown that drapes to the floor, and her hands are covered by white gloves. She holds a large, elaborate bouquet of white flowers. The setting includes lush potted plants on either side of her, and a painted backdrop depicting a serene, cloudy sky. The floor is dark, with some stacked boxes visible in the bottom right corner of the photo.
This object’s media is not available for download. Contact us about image usage.

Artwork overview

  • Medium

    gelatin silver print

  • Credit Line

    Alfred H. Moses and Fern M. Schad Fund

  • Dimensions

    image: 24.77 × 19.37 cm (9 3/4 × 7 5/8 in.)
    sheet: 25.4 × 20 cm (10 × 7 7/8 in.)

  • Accession Number

    2021.33.1

  • Copyright

    © James Van Der Zee Archive, The Metropolitan Museum of Art

More About this Artwork

Article:  James Van Der Zee’s Retouched Portraits

To present sitters in the best possible light and perfect his portrait photographs, 20th-century Harlem photographer Van Der Zee even drew jewelry onto his negatives.


Artwork history & notes

Provenance

The Estate of James Van Der Zee, New York; Donna Van Der Zee, New York; NGA purchase, 2021.

Associated Names

Inscriptions

signed by artist, lower left in negative, perpendicular: NYC / VANDERZEE;
on verso, by Donna Mussenden Van Der Zee, top right in graphite: TITLE: BEAUTIFUL BRIDE, c. 1930; / PHOTOGRAPHER: JAMES VAN DER ZEE / COPYRIGHT © DONNA VAN DER ZEE / ALL RIGHTS RESERVED / VINTAGE PRINT / CERTIFIED: Donna Mussenden VDZ / REPRODUCTION PROHIBITED WITHOUT / WRITTEN PERMISSION


You may be interested in

Loading Results