- Photograph by
- Olson, Martha, American
- Subject of
- Benjamin, Gwen, American
- Irvin, Alice, American
- Date
- 1970
- Medium
- silver and photographic gelatin on photographic paper
- Dimensions
- H x W (Image): 8 × 9 15/16 in. (20.3 × 25.2 cm)
- H x W (Paper Frame Closed): 14 × 17 in. (35.6 × 43.2 cm)
- H x W (Paper Frame Open): 28 × 17 in. (71.1 × 43.2 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 (from left to right) Gwen Benjamin and Alice Irvin. Benjamin and Irvin stand shoulder to shoulder and look directly at the camera. Benjamin, on the left, wears a light colored jacket, while Irvin, on the right wears a dark colored jacket. The photograph is mounted to a paper frame. [Martha Olson] is handwritten in pencil on the interior frame below the photograph. Several inscriptions about the subject of the photograph, the photographer, and numbers.
- Place depicted
- Columbia, Marion County, Mississippi, United States, North and Central America
- Portfolio/Series
- Marion County Mississippi: 1970-1971
- Classification
- Media Arts-Photography
- 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
- 2018.21.44
- Restrictions & Rights
- © Martha Olson
- Permission required for use. Proper usage is the responsibility of the user.