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Collections

Willie Robert Middlebrook
In His "Own" Image From the series Portraits of My People1992

Not on view
Black and white photographic grid of sixteen images showing a Black man performing a sequence of hand gestures over his face, with a sepia-toned, ink-streaked second row
Black and white portrait photograph of a bearded man with coiled locs, facing the camera in slight upward angle against a pale background, dark clothing visible at the shoulders, with visible film border edges.
Gelatin silver print, close-up of two open palms held facing the camera, fingers spread, with a figure's curly hair visible and face obscured in soft focus behind the hands.
Gelatin silver print, close-up of two hands raised palms-outward in the foreground, obscuring a figure whose hair is visible in soft focus behind, high contrast lighting on a white background.
Gelatin silver print, close-up portrait of a bearded man facing the camera directly, both hands raised to his forehead holding beaded strands against his hairline, against a light background with high contrast.
Mixed-media work on white ground, close-up portrait of a person with hands raised to cover the lower face, overlaid with vertical drips and spatters of dark brown ink or paint obscuring much of the image
Mixed-media portrait photograph of a man's face, front-facing, overlaid with dark streaks of dripping liquid running vertically across the image on a pale, speckled ground.
Mixed-media portrait of a face in grayscale, partially obscured by dark drips and splatters of pigment running vertically across a pale, textured surface.
Mixed-media portrait, a face emerging through vertical streaks and drips of dark pigment on a pale ground, with splattering obscuring much of the image.
Gelatin silver print portrait of a man with coiled hair, his hand held close to his face covering the lower half, one eye visible above, against a plain white background with dark border.
Gelatin silver print, close-up portrait of a man with locs, his raised hand covering the lower half of his face, gazing directly at the camera against a bright white background.
Black and white portrait photograph, close-up of a man in three-quarter profile facing right, with twisted locs, beard, and strong contrast against a bright white background, mounted in a black frame.
Gelatin silver print, close-up portrait of a man with locs, one hand raised flat beside his face, mouth open, shot against a bright white background with high contrast lighting.
Black and white photograph, close-up portrait of a person with loc'd hair, both hands pressed horizontally across their face covering the eyes, fingers spread, shot against a light background with high contrast.
Gelatin silver print, close-up portrait of a person with tightly coiled hair, both hands pressed horizontally across the eyes, obscuring the upper face against a light background, high contrast with deep shadows.
Gelatin silver print, close-up portrait of a person facing the camera directly, both hands raised to the sides of the face with fingers spread, tightly coiled locs fanning outward at the top of the frame, high contrast lighting against a pale background.
Gelatin silver print, close-up of two open palms facing upward, cradling a mass of dark, curly organic fiber or root material against a pale background.
Artist or Maker
Willie Robert Middlebrook
United States, 1957-2012
Title
In His "Own" Image From the series Portraits of My People
Place Made
United States
Date Made
1992
Medium
Sixteen gelatin-silver prints
Dimensions
24 x 20 in. (60.96 x 50.8 cm) each; Overall: 96 x 80 in. (243.84 x 203.2 cm)
Credit Line
Purchased with funds provided by the Ralph M. Parsons Fund
Accession Number
AC1993.128.1.1-.16
Classification
Photographs
Collecting Area
Photography
Selected Bibliography

  • Barron, Stephanie, S. Bernstein and I. S. Fort, with essays by Stephanie Barron, Sherri Bernstein, M. Dear, Howard N. Fox and Richard Rodriguez. Made in California: Art, Image, and Identity, 1900-2000. Los Angeles: Los Angeles County Museum of Art and Berkeley: University of California Press, Berkeley, 2000.

  • 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.
Copyright
© Willie Robert Middlebrook