- Photograph by
- Morgan, Barbara, American, 1900 - 1992
- Subject of
- Primus, Pearl, Trinidadian, 1919 - 1994
- Date
- 1944
- Medium
- silver and photographic gelatin on photographic paper
- Dimensions
- H x W (image): 10 3/8 × 13 1/2 in. (26.4 × 34.3 cm)
- H x W (mat): 16 × 20 in. (40.6 × 50.8 cm)
- Description
- A black-and-white gelatin silver photograph titled “Pearl Primus, Speak to Me of Rivers” by Barbara Morgan. The photograph captures Pearl Primus, a modern dancer, in motion while performing Langston Hughes’s poem, “The Negro Speaks of Rivers,” at the Belasco Theatre, New York City in October 1944.
- The performance is on a flat surface and before a wall darkened by shadows. Primus is crouched low, facing away from the viewer, toward the wall. Her arms are extended diagonally, with her proper right arm low and towards the back and her proper left arm high and towards the camera. Her proper left hand is stretched to show her palm. Primus is wearing either a full length garment or long flowy skirt and her flexed left foot is peeking out the bottom of the garment. The lights create two shadows of Primus against the wall.
- The front of the photograph is signed by the photographer in pencil on the lower right corner of the mount [Barbara Morgan 1944]. On the back, the photographer and title are written in pencil in the upper left corner "Barbara Morgan, Pearl Primus, Speak to the River." At the bottom center is a sticker for the Barbara Morgan Dance Portfolio.
- Place captured
- Manhattan, New York City, New York County, New York, United States, North and Central America
- Classification
- Photographs and Still Images
- Type
- gelatin silver prints
- Topic
- Modern dance
- Photography
- Poetry
- Credit Line
- Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture, Gift of the Estate of Carroll Parrott Blue
- Object number
- 2023.39.33.1
- Restrictions & Rights
- © Barbara Morgan
- Permission required for use. Proper usage is the responsibility of the user.




