The Newman S. Hungerford Museum Fund, 2001.22.28, the Connecticut Historical Society.

Images(2)

Fredi Washington in garden, July 23, 1935

SubjectPortrait of Fredi Washington American, 1903 - 1994

Original OwnerOriginally owned by Fredi Washington American, 1903 - 1994

DateJuly 23, 1935

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

DescriptionImage of Fredi Washington seated on a white bucket, working in an outdoor garden in an open field. Another bucket is visible at the left of Fredi. Fredi wears a swimsuit or halter top with shorts and garden gloves. A few trees and a telephone pole are visible in the far background.

Object number2001.22.28

MarkingsStamped in the center of the back of the photograph in green ink: "10 POINT NUTONE PROCESS / BY THE / TAYLOR PHOTO COMPANY / 'CERTIFIED PHOTO FINISHING' / JUL 23 1935". Stamped across the center stamp of the photograph in red ink: "799".InscribedAccession number 2001.22.28 is inscribed on verso, lower right.NotesSubject 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)

Subject Terms