Miss America
Lyle Ashton Harris
(American, born in 1965)
1987–88
Medium/TechniquePhotograph, gelatin silver print
Dimensions152.4 x 101.6 cm (60 x 40 in.)
Credit LineEllen Kelleran Gardner Fund
Accession number1995.684
On View
Not on viewClassificationsPhotographs
Collections
"Miss America" is a studio photograph of a friend of the artist that mirrors the glamour and theatricality of beauty contests. Harris uses white face powder on his African American model, which inverts the blackface performance of minstrel shows. This work illustrates the limitations of the pageant by pointing out the lack of an African American Miss America for many years.
ProvenanceThe artist; with Jack Tilton Gallery, New York; to MFA, Boston, 1995
CopyrightReproduced with permission.
Charles "Teenie" Harris
about 1940-1945
Albion Harris Bicknell