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Collections

Lorna Simpson
Backdrops, Circa 1940s1998

Not on view
Two-panel black and white print; left: a Black woman seated on a crescent moon prop surrounded by stars; right: a woman's face and raised hand against a field of white dots
Black and white studio photograph of a young person in light-colored clothing seated beside a large painted crescent moon prop with a face, against a dark backdrop decorated with white paper stars.
Black and white photographic print, two figures in the lower portion against a dark background scattered with small white dots arranged in irregular patterns; a woman in a light garment at right in profile, a second figure at center-left with one hand raised, palm outward.
Artist or Maker
Lorna Simpson
United States, New York, Brooklyn, born 1960
Title
Backdrops, Circa 1940s
Date Made
1998
Medium
Screenprint
Dimensions
Each (primary support): 26 3/16 × 16 7/8 in. (66.52 × 42.86 cm) Overall: 26 3/16 × 33 3/4 in. (66.52 × 85.73 cm)
Credit Line
Gift of Lynda and Robert M. Shapiro with additional funds provided by the Ralph M. Parsons Fund
Accession Number
M.2021.101a-b
Classification
Photographs
Collecting Area
Photography
Selected Bibliography
  • Kim, Christine Y., and Myrtle Elizabeth Andrews, editors. Black American Portraits: From the Los Angeles County Museum of Art. Los Angeles: Los Angeles County Museum of Art; New York: DelMonico Books-D.A.P., 2023.