The Newman S. Hungerford Museum Fund, 2001.22.206, the Connecticut Historical Society.

Images(2)

Woman posing in front of street lamppost

Original OwnerOriginally owned by Fredi Washington (American, 1903 - 1994)

Dateabout 1928

MediumPhotography; gelatin silver print on paper

DimensionsPrimary Dimensions (image height x width): 6 1/4 x 4 3/8in. (15.9 x 11.1cm) or smaller Sheet (height x width): 7 x 5in. (17.8 x 12.7cm) or smaller

ClassificationsGraphics

Credit LineThe Newman S. Hungerford Museum Fund

Object number2001.22.206

DescriptionImage of a woman posing in front of a street lamp near a public building. The woman wears a light-colored skirt suit, a dark cloche hat, and dark heels. The woman clutches a fur coat in her left hand. She holds a large, light-colored bag in her right hand. A passerby is visible in the right corner of the photograph.

Collections

Fredi Washington Collection

NotesSubject Note: The woman pictured in this photograph could be Fredi Washington, based on similar clothing worn and pictured in 2001.22.85. (Dixon 4/10/2020)

Date Note: Based on visual evidence in similar photographs that are identified from this period, the date of this photograph is believed to be 1928. (Dixon 4/10/2020)

Subject Note: Fredericka Carolyn "Fredi" Washington was born in Savannah, Georgia in 1903 and died in Stamford, Connecticut in 1994. Fredi began her career as a dancer at the Cotton Club in Harlem during the 1920s. She appeared in Black and Tan, a short film featuring Duke Ellington and his orchestra, in 1929 and went on to career in motion pictures. She is most famous for her portrayal of Peola in Imitation of Life (1934). Fredi helped found the Negro Actors Guild of America in 1937 and served as Entertainment Editor of the People's Voice, established in 1942 by Adam Clayton Powell, Jr., who married Fredi's sister. Fredi was also active in the NAACP. She played opposite the great African-American actor Paul Robeson on several occasions, most notably in the film version of The Emperor Jones in 1933, but also in a 1926 production of Black Boy, at the Stamford Theater. Fredi's first husband was Lawrence Brown, a trombonist in Duke Ellington's orchestra. After they divorced in 1951, she married a Stamford dentist, Hugh Anthony Bell, and moved to suburban Greenwich. Bell died in 1970. In 1975, Fredi was inducted into the Black Filmmakers Hall of Fame; in 1979, she received a CIRCA Award for lifetime achievement in the performing arts. She was 90 years old when she died of pneumonia in 1994. (Finlay 12/29/10)

Status

Not on view