Woman reading
Item
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Source
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James Van Der Zee Photograph Collection
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Creator
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James Van Der Zee
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Title
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Woman reading
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Date
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c. 1910s
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Description
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Studio portrait of an African American woman seated and reading a document, photographed in the early 1910s by James Van Der Zee. The woman wears an elaborately decorated dress with lace details, gloves, and a pendant necklace. She sits within a carefully arranged interior featuring patterned wallpaper, framed landscape paintings, and decorative plants. Her composed posture and refined surroundings emphasize dignity, education, and social status. Van Der Zee’s attention to interior design and personal presentation reflects the aspirations and cultural sophistication of African American communities during the early twentieth century.
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Type
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Image
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Subject
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African American women
Portrait photography
Reading and literacy
African American middle-class life
Domestic interiors
1910s fashion
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Format
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4 × 6 inch black-and-white photographic print.
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Rights
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This image is made available for research and educational use. Reproduction or publication requires permission from the Auburn Avenue Research Library on African American Culture and History.
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Rights Holder
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Auburn Avenue Research Library on African American Culture and History, Fulton County Library System
