- Photograph by
- Olson, Martha, American
- Subject of
- Bell, Marion, American
- Irvin, Josephine, American
- Date
- 1970
- Medium
- silver and photographic gelatin on photographic paper
- Dimensions
- H x W (Image): 9 15/16 × 8 in. (25.2 × 20.3 cm)
- H x W (Paper Frame Closed): 17 × 14 1/16 in. (43.2 × 35.7 cm)
- H x W (Paper Frame Open): 17 × 28 1/16 in. (43.2 × 71.3 cm)
- Caption
- Martha Olson graduated from Northwestern University with her B.A. in Art in 1969, and within a year, she was working more than 800 miles away as the girls’ physical education teacher at Marion High School in Columbia, Mississippi. It was the first year of integration in Mississippi public schools. During that time, Olson photographed local students, their relatives, and other residents of Marion County, which she later compiled into a series entitled, "Marion County Mississippi: 1970-1971."
- Description
- A black and white photograph of Marion Allen Bell and Josephine Irvin. Bell is featured in the front of the photograph in a close-up. She looks directly at the camera and is wearing a shirt with a collar. Irvin is in the background of the photograph, partially visible, behind Bell's proper left shoulder. The photograph is mounted to a paper frame by plastic photograph corners. [Martha Olson] is handwritten in pencil on the interior frame below the photograph. On the back of the photograph are handwritten inscriptions identifying the subject, date, and photographer.
- Place depicted
- Columbia, Marion County, Mississippi, United States, North and Central America
- Portfolio/Series
- Marion County Mississippi: 1970-1971
- Classification
- Photographs and Still Images
- Type
- gelatin silver prints
- portraits
- Credit Line
- Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture, Gift of Martha Olson
- Object number
- 2018.21.42
- Restrictions & Rights
- © Martha Olson
- Permission required for use. Proper usage is the responsibility of the user.




