The Cleveland Museum of Art
Collection Online as of April 25, 2024
Paul Robeson as "The Emperor Jones"
1933
(American, 1879–1973)
Image: 24.1 x 19.2 cm (9 1/2 x 7 9/16 in.); Matted: 50.8 x 40.6 cm (20 x 16 in.)
Alma Kroeger Fund 2001.7
© The Estate of Edward Steichen / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York
Location: not on view
Description
Celebrity actors, made famous in part through their promotion in magazine articles, helped draw crowds to plays and films in Times Square. Paul Robeson, the world-renowned singer, actor, and political activist, is seen here as Emperor Jones, a role he played first in 1924 in the revival of Eugene O’Neill’s play The Emperor Jones and then nine years later, at the time of this portrait, in its film adaptation. Edward Steichen, chief photographer for Condé Nast Publications, which included Vanity Fair, used dramatic lighting and simple props in this studio portrait to evoke the thrill of attending one of Robeson’s powerful performances.- Cleveland Museum of Art, “Recent Acquisitions Press Release,” April 4, 2001, Cleveland Museum of Art Archives. archive.org
- A New York Minute: Street Photography, 1920-1950. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (July 11-November 7, 2021).Icons of American Photography: A Century of Photographs from the Cleveland Museum of Art. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (June 24-September 16, 2007).The Cleveland Museum of Art (6/24/07 - 9/16/07); "Icons of American Photography: A Century of Photographs from the Cleveland Museum of Art", no exhibition catalogue.
- {{cite web|title=Paul Robeson as "The Emperor Jones"|url=false|author=Edward Steichen|year=1933|access-date=25 April 2024|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}
Source URL:
https://www.clevelandart.org/art/2001.7