Make A Wish (Bronx Slave Market, 170th Street, New York)

Robert McNeill, Make A Wish (Bronx Slave Market, 170th Street, New York), 1938, gelatin silver print, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Museum purchase, 1993.72.1, © 1938, Robert McNeill
Robert McNeill, Make A Wish (Bronx Slave Market, 170th Street, New York), 1938, gelatin silver print, image: 7 1⁄2 x 9 5⁄8 in. (19.1 x 24.5 cm) sheet: 8 x 10 in. (20.3 x 25.4 cm), Smithsonian American Art Museum, Museum purchase, 1993.72.1, © 1938, Robert McNeill

Artwork Details

Title
Make A Wish (Bronx Slave Market, 170th Street, New York)
Artist
Date
1938
Location
Not on view
Dimensions
image: 7 1⁄2 x 9 5⁄8 in. (19.1 x 24.5 cm) sheet: 8 x 10 in. (20.3 x 25.4 cm)
Copyright
© 1938, Robert McNeill
Credit Line
Museum purchase
Mediums Description
gelatin silver print
Classifications
Subjects
  • Cityscape — New York — Bronx
  • African American
  • Occupation — domestic
  • Cityscape — New York — New York
  • Figure group
Object Number
1993.72.1
Linked Open Data
https://edan.si.edu/saam/id/object/1993.72.1

Artwork Description

In 1937, after enrolling at the New York Institute of Photography, McNeill did a series on black domestic workers for Fortune magazine. The sophisticated composition and nuanced handling of light and space in Make a Wish (Bronx Slave Market, 170th Street, New York) did not, however, mask the irony in the image of women waiting on a street corner hoping to pick up a day’s work in front of a poster advertising a movie for those with leisure time. When Fortune rejected the pictures, Flash!, a magazine aimed at middleclass black readers, published them as a thirteen-photograph feature.


African American Art: Harlem Renaissance, Civil Rights Era, and Beyond, 2012

Works by this artist (5 items)

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Fletcher Martin, Mountain Valley, Mexico, n.d., oil on canvas, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Bequest of Henry Ward Ranger through the National Academy of Design, 1989.103
Mountain Valley, Mexico
Artist
Daten.d.
oil on canvas
Not on view
Fletcher Martin, Mine Rescue (mural study for Kellogg, Idaho Post Office), 1939, tempera on panel, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Transfer from the General Services Administration, 1974.28.315
Mine Rescue (mural study for Kellogg, Idaho Post Office)
Artist
Date1939
tempera on panel
Not on view
Fletcher Martin, Trouble in Frisco, ca. 1935, lithograph on paper, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Bequest of Olin Dows, 1983.90.105
Trouble in Frisco
Artist
Dateca. 1935
lithograph on paper
Not on view
Fletcher Martin, Toe to Toe, ca. 1940s, lithograph on paper, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Bequest of Frank McClure, 1979.98.173
Toe to Toe
Artist
Dateca. 1940s
lithograph on paper
Not on view

More Artworks from the Collection

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William H. Johnson, Woman in Blue Dress with White Collar in Red Chair, ca. 1939-1940, tempera on paperboard, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of the Harmon Foundation, 1967.59.282
Woman in Blue Dress with White Collar in Red Chair
Artist
Dateca. 1939-1940
tempera on paperboard
Not on view
William H. Johnson, Reclining Female Nude on Red Drape, ca. 1939-1940, tempera on paper, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of the Harmon Foundation, 1967.59.262
Reclining Female Nude on Red Drape
Artist
Dateca. 1939-1940
tempera on paper
Not on view
William H. Johnson, Male Model in Chair, ca. 1939-1940, tempera on paper, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of the Harmon Foundation, 1967.59.251
Male Model in Chair
Artist
Dateca. 1939-1940
tempera on paper
Not on view
William H. Johnson, Female Nude Seated on Chair, ca. 1939-1940, tempera on paper , Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of the Harmon Foundation, 1967.59.249R
Female Nude Seated on Chair
Artist
Dateca. 1939-1940
tempera on paper
Not on view